Forever, I Am Yours
by TheDreamGarden
Summary: Tony makes a plan to find the right woman within a year, and Ziva makes a plan to stop dating completely. What will happen when their worlds collide? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS**

**A/N: This is AU. It takes place in 2005, so around the time of Season 3. Ziva does not work for Mossad and has never worked at NCIS, however Tony is an NCIS agent. I will try to explain more throughout the story, so hopefully it won't be too confusing. Enjoy!**

**Forever, I Am Yours**

Chapter 1 – Ziva

She was so tired of the same old thing. You meet someone. You go out with that someone. You develop feelings for them and then they make you feel like every part of you has been abused. Your mind, body and soul, but your heart takes the hardest punches of them all. Ziva David was not someone to break easily, but after her last failed attempt at a relationship she decided she was done with them all together.

Her last boyfriend, James, was a thirty year old orthodontist who she met on her way to work one morning. She should have known it wouldn't last when he said the first thing he noticed about her was her perfect teeth. The "relationship", if you could even call it that, lasted almost a month. Turns out her teeth just weren't perfect enough for him; he shacked up with one of the hygienists at his office. Nice, real nice.

"I am done with relationships. I have decided to just stop looking for someone to be with all together," Ziva stated, poking at her sandwich.

"Good for you, Honey. In this world you learn that most men are pigs. I don't trust any of them." The woman sitting across from her, Helen commented. Ziva had known Helen since she started working at the theater. Helen was a cellist in the orchestra. She had been performing there since she was seventeen; that was forty-one years ago.

"So, are you like…becoming a lesbian?" That was Hilary, a twenty- two year old singer who just moved to DC from Florida. Hilary could be your stereotypical blonde bimbo sometimes.

"No, I am just saying that I think I would be much more content to be on my own then be with someone who will only hurt me in the end." Ziva gave up at playing with her sandwich and stood from her seat. "I need to go rehearse. If I do not get those dance steps down by Friday, Charlie will have a calf," and with that she was off.

"Shouldn't she have said cow?" Hilary asked confused.

Helen just shook her head. "Here have a cookie. Soon I won't be able to tell the difference between you and the bow for my cello."

Ziva wasn't going to rehearse. She just needed to get out of that stuffy old theater and go home. Her life had become so confusing since she moved to America. It had been a year ago yesterday since she left her home of Tel Aviv, Israel. The twenty-three year old had left so much behind, but she wanted so desperately to be free; free from the watchful eyes of her father**. **What better way to do that then to come to America, the land of opportunity, but for Ziva it had become the land of regrets, and broken trust, and clouded judgment. It was times like these she almost wished she never came here.

Approaching her apartment she could hear her married neighbors across the hall, they were fighting again. It was always over something utterly ridiculous, like last week. Last week when Mrs. Harbo had to run to the store she told Mr. Harbo to make sure to take her quiche out of the oven while she was gone. When he forgot she said it was because he was busy staring at the woman across the street in the bikini.

They fought over pointless things like that all the time, yet they've been together for thirty-nine years. Ziva was not one to waste her time on dreams. She would not allow herself to think about the possibilities. The whole American dream thing seemed all too clean for her, too unrealistic. She came here to start over, even if that meant leaving pieces of herself behind.

The Harbo's were definitely not a good example of the happily married couple, making decent money and supporting the family while living in a quaint little house with a white picket fence. No, they screamed at each other from morning till night, they could hardly put a crumb on the table, and they lived in a little apartment that had a broken air conditioner and a moldy ceiling from the time Mrs. Henderson from upstairs waterbed exploded. Yet somehow they were happy together. They always made up after a fight, (Ziva still wasn't quite sure how that all went about, but she would never ask), and most of all they still loved each other just as much as they did the day they were married. Ziva couldn't help but want something like that too.

Ziva opened her door and took off her coat hanging it up on the hanger. Flipping on the light she noticed something seemed off. "Marni", she called, "where could you be?" Walking over to the kitchen she opened up the cabinets then closed them again, and made her way to the bathroom then proceeded to walk back out; still no luck. Her brows furrowed at the sound coming from inside her bedroom. The door was cracked. Slowly she pushed it open, not wanting to startle her friend. "There you are Marni." Marni's black ears that were sticking up from under the comforter gave him away. At the sound of his name his head popped up, his green eyes wide with excitement. "I have a surprise for you." Ziva held out her hand and the cat slowly walked towards her, first sniffing the treat in her palm and then dipping its tongue out to retrieve the snack. Satisfied, he purred happily and stretched out laying back down on the bed.

"It's just you and me, Marni." She let out a sigh and peered down at the now sleeping Marni. "You're all I've got." Giving him one last scratch behind his ears, she got up from her kneeling position on the floor and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the water for the bathtub letting it fill up, and then stripped down and eased herself into the hot water. Leaning back her eyes closed. She tried not to think about how her life had ended up like this. Tried not to ask herself the same questions like, _"Will I be alone for the rest of my life, and will I ever truly be happy?" _For the first time in her life Ziva David had given up. She had decided there was no one out there for her, so she would stop looking for them. Even if that meant having her only companion be a cat.

**Let me know what you think! The next chapter we will learn a bit about Tony. That sounds fun right? Of course it does, it's Tony…(dreamy sigh)…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Tomorrow is the 4****th**** of July so, Happy Independence Day! Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts for the first chapter! They made me smile ;)**

Chapter 2 – Tony

He was so tired of the same old thing. You meet someone. You go on a date with that someone. You sleep with them, and then leave the next morning and forget all about them. Sure, it was nice while it lasted, but for a thirty-four year old guy it just didn't seem right anymore. Not that it was ever right, taking advantage of women the way he did. No matter how it appeared to some people, it was something he wasn't proud of. He wanted – no, he needed a change. He needed something real, something that would last longer than a couple of hours. Something he was willing to commit fully to. Tony DiNozzo was not one to voice those feelings often, if ever. Bottom line, he needed to find the right woman. With this woman there would be no other. That thought both terrified him and excited him.

"Probie, I have an announcement to make. I am officially done with one night stands and pointless dating. I am on a mission and I am going to find the right girl," he proclaimed walking over to McGee's desk. Tony doesn't say it, but Tim is his best bud. They'd been partners since Tim started working at NCIS, which was last year.

"Tony you said that three weeks ago."

"I didn't think you were listening to me then. Anyway, I'm saying it now and this time I really mean it," Tony added in a serious tone.

"You really do mean it, don't you?"

"That's what I just said."

"Ok, if you're so serious about this then why don't we make this interesting?" McGee leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head.

Tony leaned close to him, "I'm all ears."

"No, you're all talk DiNozzo," his boss Gibbs said, giving him a slap on the back of the head.

"Thank you, Boss. I was starting to get worried, you haven't done that all morning."

"You trying to give me another reason to?"

"No Boss I'm good. So McBrainiac, what were you saying?"

"Are you up for a challenge?"

"Always."

"I challenge you to find this right woman, the one you're willing to spend the rest of your life with, within a year." McGee said smugly, crossing his arms across his chest.

Tony laughed and raised an eyebrow. "A year,huh? That's nothing. This'll be easy."

"You really think so Tony? I mean were talking about making a woman fall in love with you here."

"Yeah."

"And you have to fall in love with her too."

Ah, there it was, the thing he had been running from all his life. He had no trouble at all making women fall in love with him. But when it came time for him to fall in love with them, that's usually when he would say to the waiter, "Check please." He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he wasn't getting any younger, and it was time he grew up and found that someone special to share his life with.

"I except your challenge Great and Almighty McProbious."

There was just one thing he had to do first.

"You're breaking up with me?" the blonde said, who wasn't very happy.

"Hilary, we've only been seeing each other, what…two days? It's just not working out."

Hilary started pacing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh…it means I can't see you anymore."

"Why?"

God, he was really starting to dislike this girl. "To be honest I just don't think you're the one for me." He couldn't even look at her. No matter how obnoxious a woman was, he still hated having to tell that woman he was breaking up with her. It was something he always had to do though. He couldn't even remember the last time a woman had broken up with him.

Hilary just kept rambling on while he started looking around. He has been to this theater a couple of times. Mostly while on a date. He wasn't much of a musical kind of guy, but chicks love a good musical. Hilary was one of the performers. He, of course, first met her here two days ago while he was with another date.

Tony could tell at the moment from Hilary's costume, that it looked like they were about to rehearse for something.

"Who is she?"

Her voice startled him. "What?"

Hilary let out a huff and put her hands on her hips. "The one for you."

"Uh." That was actually a good question. Who was the one for him?

"Ziva David." A male's voice called from up on the stage. "Where is Miss David? She must be here; we cannot do this without her."

"Here! I apologize for being late Charlie." Tony whipped his head around to face the stage.

"You missed yesterday's rehearsal. Where were you?" the short, balding man wearing the ascot whose name was obviously Charlie, asked.

"I was not feeling well," was her reply. She was foreign from what he could tell. This girl, no woman was unlike anything DiNozzo had ever seen before. Maybe it was just that tight black leotard, but whatever it was, it lit a fire in his soul.

He couldn't understand it. There were at least a dozen women wearing the same thing, prancing around in the same fashion, all of them rather appealing catches, but Ziva David was the only one who caught his eye. The man had never believed in love at first sight, but he had to admit whatever this was had to be pretty damn close.

**Reviews would be awesome!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I have two turtles that I named Tony and Ziva. I've had them for a little while now, and guess what I found out. Ziva is pregnant! I was so happy when I found out. I think it's a good sign people. Season 10 needs to get here already!**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything…except my turtles…and a lot of other stuff =)**

Chapter 3 – Mysterious People

Those stage lights are always way too bright. It didn't help that she was wearing black either. When the rehearsal had finished she wiped the sweat off her forehead and hopped down from the stage. Everyone had exited by the time she lowered her bottle of water from her mouth. She was being watched; of that Ziva was certain. She cursed the bright lighting again for shielding the mysterious figure seated in the fifth row.

Before she could ask who was there, the person revealed themself. It was man. Fairly handsome, but almost too gorgeous to be categorized as her type of man. Ziva wasn't exactly known for her taste when it came to dating good looking men, meaning they usually weren't, but when did she start thinking about dating this man. She had to keep reminding herself that she had given up on dating. Though judging by this man, she had a feeling that it was going to be a hard thing to do.

"Can I help you?"

His smile; he has a nice smile.

"Well, I don't know really. Wanna find out?" He realized that answer was a big mistake the second he said it. Ziva rolled her eyes at him and picked up her bag, making a dash for the exit. Whoever this strange man is, is apparently just like the rest of them. Helen was right, pigs - all of them. "Look I'm sorry about that, my name's Anthony DiNozzo, well Tony, Tony DiNozzo," he said, catching up with her.

It had seemed colder this afternoon then it had earlier. Looking down she realized she was still in her leotard and tights. The light pink of her cheek bones did not go unnoticed by Tony. "Ziva David." She replied, shivering slightly.

"Ziva…that's a nice name." Ziva started walking down the street; his persistence to follow her was becoming annoying. He didn't understand why she was being so short with him, he had barley said a word to her. "A pretty name like that has to mean something."

Ziva stopped and whirled around to face him causing Tony to step back. "It means splendid in Hebrew." Her reply was clipped, for she spun back around and started walking again.

"Hebrew, huh. You Israeli?"

"I think you mean _"are you Israeli?"_ I swear your language drives me up the hall."

"It's…wall." He stuttered while trying to pass a guy pushing a hot dog cart who obviously wasn't paying attention. By the time it had passed, the Israeli was nothing but a black dot in the distance, like Maria at the beginning of _The Sound of Music. _Hold up, when did he start referencing, let alone thinking about that movie? He couldn't stand that picture, too many memories of watching it with his Mom when he was younger, before she passed away.

It was too late for him to catch up with Ziva now. She had just walked into what looked like an apartment building. He guessed that she probably lived there. He briefly thought about going inside and marching up to her door to see if she would be interested in going out sometime, but he withdrew from that thought. The guy didn't want to appear like some kind of stalker, though he was kinda teetering on that line anyway.

He didn't know why this strange woman was suddenly causing him to act like a border line stalker. Usually in Tony's case, it was the female who did the stalking. He shuddered at the mention of it. He didn't feel like thinking of the possible reasons why this "_Ziva"_ had him all worked up inside. He would think about it tomorrow. Turning back around, he made his way home.

Ziva was out of breath by the time she reached her bedroom. When that hot dog cart conveniently got in Tony's, way, she ran as fast as her tight clad legs could take her. What on earth was wrong with her? It had only been one day since she had given up hope on ever finding someone and already she was tempted to throw in the rug, no towel; but no, she wasn't. She made a decision and she was going to stick with it.

Marni was perched on the window ledge in the bedroom. His tail swishing about as he concentrated on observing the world beyond the glass frame. Walking over to the window, Ziva picked the cat up and placed him in her lap as she sat down on the window seat. The sky had turned a hazy shade of pink as the evening was approaching. Most of the time Ziva spent her nights at home curled up in bed with a book. She knew it would be a bad idea to go out tonight. Everywhere she went there would be at least one guy wanting to hook up with her. Almost always when they asked she said no anyway, but for some reason going out tonight just seemed like the right choice. She quickly got up and walked over to her closet. Ziva couldn't remember the last time she wore the short red dress in the back of the closet, but judging from the dust it had been a while. After getting dressed she picked up the phone. There was only one person to call when it came to going out and having a good time. The ringing stopped after just one ring. "NCIS Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto what can I do for you?" the voice said.

"Abby, how would you like to go out tonight?" Judging from the other woman's squeal, she took that as a yes.

Across town Tony DiNozzo was contemplating which movie to pick. "Comedy…action? Action…comedy?" He spoke to himself, weighing the DVD's in his hand. The phone rang causing him to drop one. He looked at the comedy that was still in his hand and then the DVD on the floor. "Looks like comedy won." The phone continued to ring. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming." He mumbled and then picked up the receiver. "McGoo, what's shakin'?"

"Uh…not much."

Tony waited a minute before asking a question he already knew the answer to. "Your typewriter quit on you for the night?"

"Yeah, or more like I quit on it."

"No inspiration, huh. I could tell you some stories that would even make Gibbs turn pink."

"I'm sure Tony." McGee rolled his eyes. "You wanna go out tonight?"

"Ah, I don't know McGee. I don't really feel like hitting on a bunch of chicks and watching you get drunk off your ass and start dancing on the table."

"Hey, that was one time."

"Still not something I want to see again…ever."

"Look you wanna go out tonight or not? I asked Abby and she said she was going out with a friend."

"You asking me on a date McGee?" He heard McGee chuckle sarcastically and then Tony said, "I thought we were Abby's friends."

"We are, but she said it was one of her girlfriends."

"Oh, well in that case sure Probie. I'll meet you at that new club down the street." After McGee's reply, he hung up. Tony hadn't planned on going out tonight. He was going to eat his pizza, drink his beer, watch his movie, and then go to bed and dream of that gorgeous foreign woman he met today. "Zee-vah," he whispered to himself, loving how her name popped off his tongue. What are the chances of ever seeing her again? Like tonight even? Wishful thinking DiNozzo, he thought to himself. "Maybe that's what I need…a wish." He stood up and looked at the ceiling. "Alright…if anybody's listening up there. I wish…I wish I could see her again. I just need some kind of sign. Something to tell me that I'm not making an absolute fool out of myself for thinking that she could possibly be the one for me," he almost shouted. He knew he wouldn't get an answer. But God works in mysterious ways, and his answer would come soon enough.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! This chapter was a lot of fun to write.**

Chapter 4 – Familiar Faces

Ziva had met Abby Sciuto about nine months ago. They had met, of all places, at a street fair. Ziva had been to a couple street fairs in Tel Aviv, but it was her first experience at an American fair. When she first spotted the booth with the strangely enthusiastic and cheerful woman in black, she decided that it might be best to steer clear of that booth. Then, all of a sudden, the jumpy woman with pigtails called her over to the table, and Ziva put on a friendly smile and got up the courage to go over to her. It turned out she was selling homemade decorative items, like candles and pottery, and interesting looking baby dolls that had chicken drumsticks for legs. Abby had called them "chicky babies". Surprisingly, Ziva found herself rather fond of this Abby. So, ultimately, they became great friends.

"Ziva, over here."

She looked around the crowded club to see where the voice was coming from. Her eyes stopped at a booth table in the back corner where Abby was waving at her. "Abby, it is wonderful to see you."

Abby hopped out of her seat to give her friend one of her now famous "Abby hugs." "Oh Ziva, I'm so happy we could go out tonight. We haven't done anything like this in a while." The goth let out a loud whistle through her teeth, making Ziva flinch.

That's when she noticed one of the bartenders coming over with a tray full of tequila shots. "Abby are you crazy? There's no way we are going to be able to drink all of this."

"Zeee-vaah, you've been cooped up in your apartment for the last couple of days, talking about how there's no one out there for you and how you've given up hope, and are gonna live a lonely existence with your cat for the rest of your life." That did sound about right. "You can't give up Ziva. There is someone out there for you, I just know it. You never know when that right guy could come along. Maybe he's even here tonight. But the point is, he's out here," Abby declared, knocking back a shot and then slamming the glass on the table. Maybe Abby has a point. Maybe I should not give up just yet. After all I am still young, Ziva thought with a nod and then she too took a shot.

"I feel like a damn sardine in here McGee. I mean what, is all of DC in this place?"

"Tony will you lighten up, it's not all that bad."

"Well, excuse me for not particularly liking the fact that every time we move my front has to brush against your back," he hissed from behind McGee. He also didn't like that he had to feel the guy behind him pressed up against him as well. They were half way to the bar before Tony spoke up again. "Probie this is nuts. Let's just try to wiggle our way to the exit, because if somebody lets out a fart in this joint we'll all be in trouble." McGee stops walking abruptly, causing Tony to slam into him. "Now what McHoldup?"

"I think that's Abby." He pointed to the table in the corner with the two laughing ladies. DiNozzo's eyes got wide at the sight of the second woman. "Wonder who her friend is?"

"Ziva." Tony whispered, and then started pushing people out of the way and walking over to their table, leaving his partner trying to catch up.

"Tony! What are you doing here?" Abby yelled, already halfway to being completely wasted. Ziva turned around to greet the man, that's when she realized she had already greeted him once today. She gasped at the pure intensity of his gaze, it was as if he could see her deepest secrets just by looking through her pupils.

"Tiny Tim and I thought we'd check this place out. It's a good thing we did too," he winked. Tim rolled his eyes at the obvious attempt to impress Abby's friend.

"Timmy!" Abby squealed pulling him into a hug. "Guys, this is my friend Zeee-vaah. Zee-vee, this is Ton-eee and Timmmy," she slurred, then stuck a lemon wedge in her mouth.

"We meet again, Miss Daveed," he smirked.

"Hello Tony," the exasperation evident in her voice.

"You two know each other? Wait a minute, of course you know each other, because you know just about every female in and around the city."

"Well duh, Timmy. He's slept with enough of um."

Tony sent her a glare before clearing his throat, wanting more than anything to change the subject. He took a seat next to the beauty in the red dress and gave her a cheesy smile. "Who knew we would meet again so soon?"

"Who knew you would be so insane as to follow me around?" She hissed back, taking a sip of her drink knowing that it wouldn't be too long before all of those shots caught up with her.

"I did not follow you here," he denied.

"Oh, so you're saying it was just a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences", Abby and McGee said at the same time using their Gibbs voice. Then they started cracking up laughing. The other two just ignored them.

For the next hour, whenever Tony would say something, Ziva would either ignore him or snap at him. Even though it was fairly obvious that she wanted nothing to do with him, Anthony DiNozzo was not a man who gave up easily. "So right in the middle of this thing the guy goes…"

"Do you wanna dance?" She had no idea why she asked that. Maybe she's finally lost her mind, or maybe that tequila was really starting to affect her.

"Uh…no, not exactly, he actually said…wait a minute, you were asking me?" Tony says dumbly, wondering if that one beer he consumed had some strange effect on him. She nods her head before grabbing his hand and practically flinging him out of his seat and on to the dance floor.

The music is fast paced and the heat radiating off of the dancers bodies make everything seem almost dream like. She, by all means, has the upper hand. Wandering hands seems to fit also, when they make their way to his waist, pulling him closer to her. Her sudden change in mood has Tony a little confused, but, honestly, he could care less right now. The feel of her butt grinding into his pelvis is just too fantastic.

They had been dancing for a while before Ziva suddenly felt dizzy.

"Ziva, you alright?" Tony asked, holding onto her arm so she wouldn't fall. She just shook her head and wobbled back to their table.

"Guys, I think I'm gonna need to take Abby home. It seems she had a little too much to drink." McGee explained as he tried to help Abby put her coat on, though her protests were making it difficult.

"No I didn't. I wanna stay, just a…little…longer…please Timmmyy…"

"No Abby, we have to go."

"But why?" she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. It was amazing how much she looked like a sad, little girl with her pigtails and little skirt on.

"What should I do about her?" Tony pointed to Ziva who had latched onto his arm and was moving her hips in a way that made Tony wonder if she was trying to dry hump him.

"How should I know? Look, I'm gonna take Abby to my place cause I forget where she lives, and I also don't feel like playing hide and go seek to find her keys. Just, I don't know…take her back to your place."

"You really think that's a good idea." He looked down at the drunken woman whose wandering hands were playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"You're right. Let's go Dancing Queen."

The two made their way to the parking lot, and Ziva finally spoke. "I know you. You're…you're…DiNozzo." Her eyes narrowed as she studied him, trying to remember who she was and what she was doing in his car.

"Yes." He replied, pulling out of the parking lot.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Back to my place."

"Ooh…I get it…you're an Italian gigolo."

He turned his head slowly to look at her. "I've been told that before. But no, actually I'm not." He could have sworn he saw a hint of disappointment on her face when he said that.

He turned back to face forward, pretending he didn't hear when she mumbled, "Well that is too bad."

**Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sadly, I have nothing to talk about. So… enjoy!**

Chapter 5 – Never Giving Up

He had gotten her up the steps just fine, surprisingly, but inside the apartment it was a different story. "Ziva will you stop spinning around like that? I really wouldn't like having to clean your puke off my carpet." He watched her as she spun around and around like a ballerina in the middle of his living room.

"You…are no fun," she said, pointing at him after she finally stopped spinning.

"Oh, I so am." He walked over to her, sizing her up.

Her eyes were doe like and her smirk looked positively irresistible. "Prove it."

He shivered when she breathed on his neck and then took a step back, he needed to regain some self-control. "Not tonight." Tony quickly walked over to the kitchen and filled up a glass of water and grabbed some pain medication, she was going to need it later. "Ziva, I got you some…Ziva?" The woman was nowhere in sight. Then he heard a noise coming from his bedroom. He swung the door open and found Ziva.

"Ooh, what do we have here?" She held up a pair of his boxers.

"Hey, put those back." Grabbing the boxers he shoved them back into the dresser drawer before turning towards her. She sat on the bed, legs crossed as if she was waiting for him to uncross them and take her right there. The thought made the hairs on his body stand up and the rest of his body numb, and tight, and hot, and…oh right, back to the story.

Ziva flung herself backwards on the bed and reached over to his bedside table, picking up his hat and putting it on her head. "N…C…I..."

"S," He finished. "I'm a federal agent. I work with McGee and Abby."

"Mmm…federal agent." She licked her lips.

"Yeah. Look, here's something to wear, I know it's not much, but…" He dropped the t-shirt that he had in his hand and watched her lower the zipper of her dress and turn around, her back to him as she teasingly lowered the red fabric. He silently declared that she had the best back he had ever seen. _I wonder if the fronts as good as the back?_ Tony wondered before snapping out of it. "Ok, I'm just gonna be in the living room if you need me." She had mumbled something he couldn't quite understand as he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

When he came back out she was curled in a ball and snoring. He chuckled and shook his head. After closing the bedroom door he mumbled to himself, "Crazy chick."

It was so bright. For a moment Ziva wondered if she was in the theater on the stage. The light was unbearable. When her eyes fluttered open everything was a blur for a moment before it became clear that she was in a bedroom…someone else's bedroom. Sniffing the air she could smell something burning and hopped out of bed, big mistake there. "Ow." Her head was throbbing. She looked down at herself and noticed she was only wearing a t-shirt that was obviously a man's. _Oh no, think Ziva think. Ohio State? It doesn't ring a bell. Ha, I know I got that one right! Anyway, what in the world did I do last night? _She wondered. Then she remembered the burning smell and followed it out into the kitchen.

A man stood in front of a toaster. She could only see him from his bare back and up. She had to wonder if he was completely naked, cause from her angle it would appear that way. There was smoke coming from the toaster and he quickly pushed a button causing two depressing looking pieces of burnt toast to pop out. "Haaa…hot." Hastily dropping the black squares, he shook his hands, trying to get rid of the tingling sensation. Then he spun around on one foot, bracing his hands on the counter to steady himself, that's when he noticed her. "Shit Ziva, you scared me."

She looked at him, trying to remember. He nervously adjusted his boxers as he waited. Then she opened her mouth to say something. "You…"

"Yes…I am devilishly handsome." He smiles charmingly.

"Do I know you?"

"Uh…Tony DiNozzo, Italian gigolo...film aficionado...federal agent/toast burner on the side."

She chuckles. "Ah yes, it is coming back to me now. Oh, did we?"

He laughs. "I don't think so. Cause you'd never be able to forget an experience like that."

That statement was probably true, she had decided. The man practically oozed sex appeal. It was becoming too much for her to handle. She knew she needed to get out of there fast, before she did something she would regret.

"Would you like some breakfast, "he asked looking down at what he had prepared and frowned. "Or some…coffee?"

"I'm sorry, I must go." Ziva ran out of the room and back into the bedroom, changing back into her dress before going back to the kitchen to face a confused Tony. "Thank you for letting me stay here last night." She started walking to the door.

"Wait a minute, uh, would you maybe like to go," She was out the door before he could finish, "out with me sometime?"

When Ziva got outside she realized she must not have drove here, and that she would have to walk home. Luckily this DiNozzo guy lived not that far from her apartment. The previous day started coming back to her. She had met him at the theater, he was following her around so she just brushed him off. Then that night she and Abby went out and Tony was there again. She had gotten drunk, and apparently he had taken her to his place, nothing happened, end of story. Somehow it didn't feel like the end though. There was something about all of this that seemed almost too surreal. There was no doubt she would see him again. So far he's been showing up wherever she went. It was obvious he had some interest in her, but Ziva wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She had sworn off relationships. Ok, she really needed to stop thinking about him that way. She had just met him yesterday. She knows nothing about him. Why would she ever think that he could want something from her? Maybe because the men she was used to being around, always did, and what they wanted definitely had nothing to do with commitment.

Tony sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. He was a little confused, and more than a little frustrated. Why did she have to keep leaving him like that? Granted he didn't really know her, but still, he would have liked for her to at least stay a little longer so that maybe they could get they could get to know each other better. Not in the way that he was used to getting to know a woman, but just talking to her. He never had anyone to talk to but himself most of the time, and when it came to that, it wasn't exactly the most fulfilling conversations. _She would probably make good company once you got to know her_, he figured.

When he arrived at work an hour later he went straight down to Abby's lab. "Abby. Abs."

"Not so loud, would you," Abby mumbled, walking over to the table to pick up her Caf-Pow.

"Last night was rough on you, huh."

She nodded. "So what can I do for you, Tony?"

"I wanna know more about Ziva." He sat on the edge of the table and leaned back.

"Oh, I see. What do you wanna know?" Abby smirked knowingly at him.

"Is she single?"

She pondered the question for a few moments, wondering whether or not she should tell him. "Yes, she's single."

"Alright!" He beamed, but stopped when he noticed her little frown.

"But…she doesn't want to be with anyone, ever."

"What?"

"If you want to know more you'll have to ask her. I just thought you deserved to know the truth," she said sadly, before turning around to face her computer screen.

Tony sat there gaping for a while before standing up straight, making Abby turn around. "No. You know what, I'm not giving up. I am going to prove to her that I am the right guy for her. She's probably gonna hate me for it, but I don't care if she hates me every single day cause one of these days that hates gonna turn in to love. I don't care how long it takes. I'll never give up on her." He heard a small sob and then looked over to the woman next to him.

"That was beautiful. I always knew that underneath that crispy wafer surface there's loads of gooey caramel inside of you, Tony." Abby wiped a tear from her eyes, and then seeing his confused face, explained. "Sorry, it's that time of the month for me."

"Oh Abby." He gave a disgusted look.

Her arms came around him, enveloping him in a hug. "I'm so proud of you Tony. You're finally growing up and thinking about commitment. So, what are you gonna do to win Ziva's heart?"

He was about to say something before he stopped. "I have no idea."

**Poor Tony, what ever will he do? **

**Care to share your thoughts in a review? **

**P.S. – I totally didn't mean to make that rhyme, but it did anyway =D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Nope, I'm not giving NCIS back to you. You can't make me. There is nothing you can do…oh wait what does that say? I do not own NCIS? What? So all this time I've owned absolutely nothing. Well, that's just great, I'm gonna go and feel sorry for myself now. P.S. - it also says that I don't own any Sinatra songs either. **

Chapter 6 – What a Night

It had been a couple of days since Ziva had last seen Tony (that morning in his apartment). She was beginning to wonder if she had offended him or hurt him. He seemed like a nice person, and if she hadn't been betrayed so much in the past, she knew that she would have been more open to his advances. But she also knew from what had been said that night at the club, that Tony was a definite player and womanizer. Ziva had been with several men that fit that description. They all were alike, and she never wanted to travel down that road again.

After a week had passed, she was beginning to believe that she would never see him again. That belief brought her both relief and disappointment. Relief because it would be easier to carry on with her life, instead of having him as a distraction, and disappointment cause in some ways, hidden deep inside her heart, she had hoped to see him again, every day if she could. Then one night, she did see him again.

She had just gotten home from the grocery store. Her feet were killing her from all the dancing she had done earlier, and all she wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep. What was even more bothersome was the cold she had been suffering from for the past few days. She could hardly breathe and every time she talked it sounded like she had swallowed an ash tray. After changing into her flannel pajamas, she was about to shut off her bedroom light when it sounded like someone was singing.

"Some day, when I'm awfully low. When the world is cold. I will feel a glow just thinking of you…and the way you look tonight."

It was obviously a man's voice. As she moved into the living room it got louder. "Yes, you're lovely," she opened the door, frowning at the smiling man in front of her. "With your smile so warm and your cheeks so soft." He touched her cheek and she quickly slapped his hand away. "There is nothing for me but to love you…and the way you look tonight."

_Is he crazy? He just said he loved me and the way I look, even though I know I look terrible right now. My face is cleaned of makeup, hair wild, eyes baggy, and nose red from blowing it so much, s_he thought, while Tony continued.

"With each word your tenderness grows." Tenderness? She hadn't exactly shown him tenderness, but Tony knew it was there. "Tearing my fear apart." Not quite. Her glare was starting to make him fear the loss of some of his body parts, but he just kept smiling. "And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, it touches my foolish heart." _Fool, I am an absolute fool. A fool for you, Ziva,_he thought.

_Fool, he is an absolute fool, but maybe that's what I admire about him._

Lovely, never, ever change. Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it? Cause I love you," There's those words again. "Just the way you look tonight. Just the way you look, too-night…"

When they heard clapping they realized that some of Ziva's neighbors had gathered in the hallway to witness the humiliatingly sweet act. Ziva grabbed Tony by the tie and pulled him into the apartment, slamming the door shut. "What was that all about?" she hissed.

"Well, I think they liked my performance."

Her eyes were mire slits now. "You know what I am referring to."

"Oh that. Can't a guy show up at a beautiful woman's apartment unexpectedly and sing some good old blue eyes?"

"Not if he wants to see daylight." She walked into the kitchen. "Since you're here would you like some tea?"

"Sure. Thanks."

She nodded and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. He sat down on the couch, sighing when his back cracked. "This is a nice place you got here. Aren't you going to ask me how I know where you live?"

"No."

"Oh." He sounded a little disappointed.

There was something black curled up on the floor. It didn't appear to be moving. He got off the couch and approached it, slowly. Before he could lay a finger on it the black mass of fur got into defensive mode and hissed at him, barring its teeth. Tony stumbled back. "Gah, what the hell is that thing?"

"It's my cat, stupid." Ziva walked into the room, setting the cups of hot tea on the coffee table, and then went over to Marni, cradling him in her arms and making uncharacteristically cute cooing noises to him. Tony watched on fondly, liking this slightly more feminine side of her that he had yet to see.

"I didn't know you liked cats."

She crawled over to the couch and sat on the floor in front of him. "There's a lot you do not know about me."

There was such mystery in her tone it made Tony wonder just what kinds of secrets was she hiding. "What's his name?" He pointed down at the cat.

Ziva nodded her understanding. "Marni, it means rejoice."

He hummed his answer, and took a sip of tea. "Wow," He smacked his lips together. "That's some hot stuff."

Ziva huffed and set Marni down, moving to sit next to her uninvited guest. "Why are you here, Tony?"

He sighed and boldly reached out, putting his hands over hers. She held back her surprise and focused on the warmth they provided, and just how crisp and clear his eyes were in the light. "Well, I was going to ask this before you flew out of my apartment like a bat out of hell, and I never got the chance to. Miss David, will you go on a date with me?"

"I do not do dating." She wondered for a moment why she was being so stubborn.

"Oh, so you just skip right to marriage then? Pregnancy?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you have to be so sarcastic?"

He leaned back and smiled. "Why don't you date?" When she didn't answer, he started guessing. "Turned celibate? Daddy forbids you?"

"Bite me." She stood up and walked over to the window, he followed her.

He stood behind her, dipping his head to sniff her hair. "I'll do anything you want."

Her eyes closed at the whisper of his voice. When she turned her face slightly, her nose brushed against his. Then she broke the heated tension by stepping away and turning around to face him fully. "Leave. Now." Her pointer finger, pointed towards the door.

"Aw, come on. Give me one good reason why I should walk out that door and never come back again."

"I could give you eighteen reasons why, with this." She took something out of her pocket and showed it to him.

"That's uh…paperclip."

"Yes, it is." He continued staring at the object for a minute before laughing. "What is so funny?"

"You're…you're threating me with a paperclip?"

Tony continued laughing until she mumbled,"Oh, I give up." She put the weapon back in her pocket and he slowly began walking towards her again.

"How many times have you said that?" He asked softly, patiently.

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I don't think a chance at love is worth giving up on."

She laughed. "Love. You probably would not know the second thing about love."

"First thing. And how would you know? You don't know me. I'm just a stranger to you." He was trying to determine what she was thinking. She seemed to be more of the silent type. A woman who conceals her emotions, but sometimes they still show through her features. After a while of not getting any reaction, he continued. "And you're right, maybe I don't know much about love, but neither do you. If you did we wouldn't be having this conversation right now…we would be out on that date, which I would still like an answer to."

The brunette lifted her gaze and gaped at him, closing her mouth and opening it like she was imitating a fish. "I…well I…"

He lifted the hair off her shoulder to whisper in her ear. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven."

When Ziva opened her eyes, he was gone. She hurried over to the window, looking down at the dark city street lit only by a few lamps. She watched him prance down the lane, snapping his fingers and humming a tune that would forever be embedded in her memory. Looking up at the sky it appeared the moon was just about as big as it had ever been, and she found herself humming the last verse.

"_Cause I love you, just the way you look tonight."_

**Now who has the sudden urge to go fall in love? I know I do…though my urge isn't so sudden. **

**T**o

**B**e

**C**ontinued….in the next chapter…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Of Love and Friendship

He knocked on the door for about the tenth time, and still there was no answer. "Come on Ziva, open up." Before he could start banging his head against the door, he heard another door close from behind him.

"You know my wife did the same thing to me on our first date."

Tony turned around slowly to face the man. He was leaning with his arms crossed against the door frame. His face had wrinkles, but even Tony could tell the guy had to have been, and still was, handsome. He had a full head of hair that was a peppery gray, and wore a pair of old beat up glasses. The man was giving him a knowing smirk. "Can I help you sir?"

The older man laughed. "Sir? Do I look like a sir to you? Calvin Harbo, but I go by Cal." He stuck out his hand and shook Tony's.

"Anthony DiNozzo, but I go by Tony." Cal and Tony observed each other, taking in the others features, until Tony cleared his throat. "So, what were you saying about your wife?"

"Oh yes, my wife Anna was late on our first date," He gave a hearty chuckle. "And usually I was the one who was always late, but it didn't matter. The wait was all worth it the minute I saw her." He gave a sigh, and then looked back at the younger man who reminded him of a younger version of himself.

"You must have really loved her."

"Still do. Though she can be a real pain in the…"

"Cal, are you talking to yourself again?" The door that Calvin had been leaning on opened to reveal a woman approximately in her late fifties. She had long curly hair that was in the process of turning mostly gray but still had some light brown in it. She wore a light pink housecoat and white fluffy slippers. The woman had a certain natural beauty that no amount of age could diminish. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you were there. Cal what's the matter with you? Why didn't you invite the man in?"

"Anna, he's waiting for Ziva to get here. He's her guest."

"Being your nosy old self, huh." She shook her head at her husband, and then shook Tony's hand. "I'm Anna."

"Tony."

Anna beamed at him. "You're the one who was here last night. Oh, that was so romantic, what you did. It's been so long since Ziva's had anyone over. In fact I think you're the first man that's ever come to see her." She shook her head once again. "It's a shame, such a beautiful young woman like that deserves her chance at happiness. Rarely have I ever seen her walk in to that apartment without a frown on her face."

Tony thought about what she said for a minute until he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Ziva trugged up the stairs carrying some heavy shopping bags. "Hello Cal, Anna", she smiled, and then her smile faltered as she looked to her left. "Tony."

"Hello dear." The couple greeted.

"Hi Ziva. Here let me help you with those." Tony reached out to take the bags.

"I got them." She said, pulling them out of his reach.

"Ziva, go on let the man take them. I wish my husband would do that for me every once and a while."

Cal rolled his eyes. "Oh Lord here we go."

"Well, we're gonna leave you two alone now. Aren't we Cal?"

"Yes dear." He called after her, then turned back around to face them mouthing "help me", before walking back inside.

They laughed and then turned to look at each other. Ziva got out her key and unlocked the door. "Sorry I'm late." She walked into her bedroom and sat the bags down on the bed.

"That's okay." He called from the living room.

"I just have to get a quick shower and then I shall be ready."

"Ok." The shower started running and Tony made himself at home. Being the good investigator he was, he couldn't help but snoop around a bit, just to get a closer look at who exactly Ziva David was. Most of the things in the apartment were normal. A couple pieces of artwork on the walls, the bookshelf was filled with mostly classic novels. _Typical_, Tony thought. But where are the personal touches, the unique things that you wouldn't find in anyone else's home? The bedroom would be the most obvious place, but he didn't want to enter that forbidden territory, at least not yet. But that cracked door just kept disturbing him. He itched to sneak a peek inside.

The bedroom was, in fact, different from the rest of the apartment. It had a more homey kind of feel to it. The walls were a rich red and the bed was tan. There were pictures on the dresser; most of them were of people Tony didn't know. There was one of Abby at what looked like a party. Then he came across one tiny picture that hung on the wall. It had a little girl with shoulder length dark brown hair and brown eyes; she looked to be about six and wore a yellow sundress. There was also another little girl that could have been about two. She had shorter light brown hair and brown eyes. Tony wondered who that girl was, but never had to guess who the older one was. She still had that same smirk, like she knew everything. And those eyes like tunnels where dreams pass through.

"Find anything interesting?" The smirk was even in her voice.

He turned around to face her. "Do you have to sneak up on me like that? What are you a ninja?"

She looked confused. "No, I am a dancer."

"Well you're more like a ninja to me. That's a good picture." He pointed behind him.

"Yes, that was my sister and I."

"See I'm learning new things about you already. You have a sister."

"Had", she said, not meeting his eyes. "She died three years ago."

_Well, way to go DiNozzo. _"I'm sorry."

Ziva chuckled sadly. "What have you got to be sorry for?" He followed her out of the room. She whispered under her breath, "You were not the one who killed her." Tony heard, but decided it was too early to ask about it.

When they were close to reaching the reaching their destination, Ziva sighed and looked over to the driver's seat. "Look Tony you seem like a…good man but…"

"Oh no, I thought these kind of talks were meant for the after dinner special, not the before."

"Tony…"

"That's alright, Ziva."

"No just let me finish."

Tony pulled over into the parking lot of the restaurant where they were going to have their so called, "date". He turned in his seat to face her. He wanted nothing more than to kiss that little frown off her face, but he knew he couldn't. Ziva was becoming easier and easier for him to read, and Tony didn't even need to hear what she was about to say, somehow he already knew.

"I know that you like me…a lot." He became a little shy all of a sudden and just nodded slightly. "But…I just don't think I am ready for a relationship right now. I would prefer it…if we could just be friends." Ouch. It felt like his heart had fallen right out of his ass and went splat all over the ground. "And maybe tonight could be more of a…get together between friends, rather than a date. If that is alright with you?"

_No!_ His broken heart kept screaming at him. How could they just be friends? Tony's feelings for Ziva would absolutely never qualify in the just friend's category. But on the other hand, it's better to be a friend to her, than be nothing at all. "Ok. We can just be friends", he said even though in his head he was saying,"_Ok. But one day Ziva David you're gonna feel the way I feel about you." _She smiled softly at him, and they made their way into the restaurant.

Dinner was mainly spent in small talk. Frankly, neither of them wanted to talk. They weren't on the same page. Ziva wanted friendship, Tony wanted a romantic relationship. Two very different outlooks that could affect their entire lives. If they just stayed friends they could eventually find other people, start a relationship and possibly build a family with that other person. Tony almost choked on his wine at that thought before burying the thought in his pile of mashed potatoes. If they were to begin a relationship together it could lead down that same path of marriage and family. Ziva didn't know quite what to think about that. She knew though that she didn't want to think about it right now.

After dinner it was still fairly early so they decided to take a walk through the park. There were several couples that they had passed while walking. Each couple they passed was too mesmerized with each other to even care about anything else. The two new "friends" walked side by side, never touching each other.

"So, now that were friends can you tell me why you don't date?"

The questioned startled Ziva and her walking came to a stop. She wasn't sure that she wanted to tell him, but saw no harm in doing so, and they began walking again. "I am no sure exactly. I just do not feel like being with anyone."

Tony stopped and she turned to him. "What are you scared of?"

Her eyes widened. "I am not scared of anything." She abruptly ended the conversation, and took off down a dirt path that led out to a large duck pond with a long bridge that went all the way across the middle of it. He followed her and she stopped right in the middle of the bridge. Tony slowly walked up to stand beside her, following her gaze to the sky filled with stars. "That moon. Why has it been so big?" She mumbled.

"I don't know. My mom used to tell me that the more love that was in the air, the bigger and more beautiful the moon would get."

She looked up at him and watched the light bounce off his eyes like the reflection of the moon on the pond. "Do you believe that?"

He gazed down at her and then up at the moon, and then down at her once more. "It's not a matter of believing…it's a matter of feeling."

For a few moments their eyes were reluctant to part, and from up above, the face of the moon was winking at them.

**How's that for a sappy ending. I thought this chapter needed it because of the whole "just friends" thing. Don't worry though, there will be Tiva. But like every relationship there are always a few…challenges, and things we have to learn along the way. **

**Please review and tell me what you think. I would love to know your thoughts. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you all who reviewed last chapter. I loved reading your comments. I struggled a bit with this chapter. I hope it's ok. By the way, Ziva will be starting to use contractions more since she's been around Tony more. Anyway, enough of this chatter, on with the disclaimer…**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything. Now on with the story…**

Chapter 8 – Things Left Unfinished

Tony found himself in a very difficult place. When they had decided, or more like she had really decided, that they would just be friends, he had already liked Ziva in a more than a friends kind of way, but now he was beginning to believe that he was falling in love with her. He couldn't help it. Even though that love may not be returned, there was a certain contentment that he felt just to be near her, that made the truth of the matter a little bit easier.

A couple times a week for the next month Tony and Ziva would see each other, just as friends. Sometimes they would go out somewhere like the movies, or the café near Ziva's apartment. Most of the time though, they went over to each other's places and had dinner and would watch movies. Ziva liked Tony's company, but still tried to distance herself from becoming too attached to it. They didn't discuss their personal lives much, which was the way she preferred it, but she knew they would have to at some point.

That point in time came one rainy afternoon. He got the call a little after one o'clock. It surprised him, because he was the one who often invited her over, not the other way around. They would have lunch together on the Sundays when Tony hardly ever got called in for work.

Opening the door, she smiled at the bag of Chinese food in his hand, but frowned a little when she saw the rest of him. "Tony, you're all wet."

"Gee Ziva, I didn't notice."

She gave a fake laugh before taking the bag out of his hand and putting it on the counter. "Go get changed into some dry clothes."

He looked down at himself and the puddle he was creating on the carpet. He nodded in agreement, that he should, in fact, change before he made an even bigger mess, and walked into her bedroom to change. Over the past couple of weeks he had made himself more at home at her place and even kept a pair of sweats there.

When he came out of the bedroom, now dry, she asked, "Did you get my vegetarian special?"

"Why don't you see for yourself." Taking out a container, she sniffed the contents and nodded her head of dark curls, before taking a bite. "Ziva, I have got to introduce you to meat." Tony grabbed his container and picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and held it out in front of her. "Ziva, meet beef. Beef, meet Ziva."

She laughed. "Tony, just eat your food like a good boy."

He smirked at her, quickly stealing some rice from her plate. "Yes, ma'am." Ziva let out a laugh again, then smacked him hard on the shoulder. "Ow! Will you stop hitting me woman?" When he got no reply he simply went back to eating, but still wondered what was bothering her.

The only sound that was heard for the next few minutes was the sound of chewing until Ziva spoke up. "Every man I have ever been with has hurt me." Tony stopped chewing mid bite, and set his plate down. "I am tired of being hurt. That is why I do not date."

She sounded so strong. It made him feel an even greater amount of respect for this brave, fragile woman. He scooted his chair closer to hers. "I would never hurt you Ziva, you have to trust me on that."

"But how can I trust your word when you are just like them?"

It was a bit of a slap in the face that she considered him just like the men who have hurt her. Though the only external evidence of that slap was his slightly clenched jaw.

"Tony…"

He put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him, but kept her head down. "Just know…that if I had you…"

"No Tony, don't."

He wanted to touch her cheek, but drew his hand back. "I would cherish you."

She shuddered. "Tony, I cannot." She couldn't do this, she couldn't be with him. She couldn't get hurt; but she didn't want to hurt him either.

"I know," was all he said. And then they went back to eating in silence…though it wasn't the comfortable silence they were used to.

After lunch Tony left. Less than a minute after saying goodbye to him, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she was suddenly engulfed in a hug. "You deserve better than them", Tony whispered softly, and then stepped back, and was gone again. Ziva sucked in a shaky breath. It amazed her how he was always capable of saying what she needed to hear the most.

Two days later they found themselves in another interesting conversation. They were walking after picking up coffees from the café. It wasn't often that the two got to spend time together in the morning before work, but on a rare occasion like today, they did.

"So, what is your issue? You know mine."

"Right the whole, not wishing to date anyone thing." He was trying to take a bite out of his jelly donut in one hand, while holding a tray of coffees in the other.

"Right. Well, obviously there must be some issue for you." The next thing Ziva heard was a _splat._

"Great, just great."

She looked over to Tony, and that's when she noticed the big red jelly spot on the front of his shirt. "Oh. We must get that out or it will leave a stain." She commented and then hastily ushered him back into the café and into the men's room.

"Ziva, this is the men's room."

"That was quite an observation, Tony." She took a wet paper towel and started dabbing away at the stubborn little spot, while he stood helplessly by waiting for her to finish. "It does not make sense. A man like yourself who is used to being with a…considerable amount of women suddenly just doesn't want to, it does not make sense."

She's concentrating so much on the stain, he's not even sure she meant to say it out loud. "What does that have to do with anything?"'

"It is your issue, yes. It is troubling you, just like my problem is troubling me."

"You're right it isn't typical of me, but the reason for that is…I'm not looking for typical anymore."

The scrubbing stops and she looks up at him through her lashes, and that's when it becomes apparent that both her hands are placed firmly on his chest. But why comment on that? He wouldn't want her to remove them.

"What are you looking for?" her voice sounding small like a child's.

He thinks about the question for a moment. "I'm looking for…the one."

"The one?"

"Yeah, you know like, uh, ok I'm about to say something extra cheesy right now but…uh…uh soulmate."

The confusion leaves her face and is replaced by curiosity. "Soulmate. That's very deep coming from…"

"Look, I know what you're gonna say. That's very deep coming from a man like me who's never been in a serious relationship."

"No, I was going to say, that's very deep coming from a man wearing _Flintstones_ themedunderwear."

He looked down at himself. "How did you?"

She winked. "Take a wild goose."

"Guess."

"You guess."

His lips curled upward in amusement. "No, it's take a wild, oh never mind."

Ziva turned around and threw the paper towel away and turned back around, and began straightening Tony's tie for him. "So, you are looking for your soulmate."

"Yes." The answer was soft and somewhat hesitant.

Ziva finished fooling with the tie and looked him in the eyes. "Then why have you taken such a fancy to me?" _Wait a second. _"Oh…" Tony flushed with embarrassment and turned away. "You think that I am…"

"If I'm late for work my boss is gonna kill me." He declared in haste, and then took off out of the bathroom.

_Now who was the one running away? _

Ziva had to wonder how many more of their conversations were going to be left unfinished.

For the rest of the day Ziva was incapable of getting her and Tony's earlier conversation out of her mind. How could he possibly think that she was his soulmate? She had to confront him about it. She had to know why.

The first thing Tony did when he got home from work was crack open a beer. It was a poor way of dealing with his issues, but it was the easiest way he knew how. Somewhere in the drunken stupor of his mind, he thought he heard a knocking sound. He tried standing up from his living room floor, but only ended up falling back down again.

"Tony, open this door." It sounded like Ziva. After what happened earlier he wasn't even sure if he wanted to let her in or not, but he did anyway.

She stood strong. Defiant. "You have no right to claim me," she glared.

He glared right back. "Come in won't you."

Slamming the door behind her she followed him into the room. The hunch of his back made her want to place her hand on it. He refused to face her so she began talking to his back. "Why did you have to choose me? Out of all the women…"

"I had no choice."

"What do you mean, you had no choice?"

He turned around quickly, she didn't even flinch. "Ziva, it's not like I was trying to decide what I want for breakfast, we're talking about the rest of our lives here."

"What makes you think that I'm even going to be in your life, and don't say it's because I am your soulmate, because I am not. We have known each other for what…two months, and you have some crazy idea in your head that I am the only woman for you. Do you know how insane that sounds?"

"Why are you yelling at me when I'm right in front of you?"

She stopped her rant and looked at him in disbelief. "You are unbelievable." _How can he be so calm about this?_

"And you are beautiful."

Looking up at him she found him staring down at her. His soft smile was almost heartbreaking. "You are drunk."

His head started to dip and his face became that much closer to hers. "Yes I am. But my eyes are still sober. They know a beautiful woman when they see her, and they have yet to see one more beautiful than the one their looking at right now." His lips made contact with hers softly, so softly that for a moment she felt like giving in. He never wanted it to end. Finally, finally they were getting somewhere.

Then, she suddenly turned away.

It was as if all the alcohol he had consumed was only water. It's amazing how ones pain can make them drunk one moment and completely sober the next. "Ziva." Tony whispered, brokenly as he watched her open the door she came in through.

Turning back she sent him one last glance. "We are not meant to be, Tony. You must accept that." She closed the door and leant back against it. "You must accept that", she whispered to herself, but even after saying that, she was still having difficulty accepting it for herself.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't know. Do I own anything? Nah, I'm just **_**jerking your chain.**_

Chapter 9 – You're On My Mind

The next morning was like a living hell.

"So, Tony, how's that finding the right woman challenge working out for you?" McGee asked, from his desk.

"Don't ask," was the grunted reply from his partner who had just walked into the bullpen.

"That bad, huh."

Tony just scowled at him, before dumping his stuff on his desk and taking his seat.

Gibbs walked into the room and over to his Senior Field Agent's desk. "Where the hell you been, DiNozzo? Work started two hours ago."

"I uh…had a bad night, Boss."

Gibbs nodded in a silent understanding. "I would say don't let it happen again, but we both know it will. Just get to work, DiNozzo."

"On it Boss." When Gibbs left again, McGee made his way over to Tony's desk. Tony looked up at him. "What Tim?"

McGee gave a concerned look. "You just called me Tim. You never call me Tim. You feeling ok?"

"Do I look ok?"

"No, you look like you've been hit by a bus."

"That actually sounds pretty good right about now. I'm gonna go find a bus", he said standing up. He hurried off to the elevator and McGee followed.

"Whoa, hold up. Tony what is going on?"

A few seconds later they were greeted with the sight of Abby dancing around her lab, twirling Bert in her arms. "Hey guys, come dance with me." They just stood there not saying a word, so Abby shut off the music. She looked at them both and noticed Tony's gloomy face. "Awww…Tony what's wrong?"

He grunted when she hugged him, making her step back. "I don't want to talk about it Abs."

"You cannot use that excuse on me DiNozzo, because I am Abby Sciuto, and I will find out. Besides, I always know when something's bothering you, it's not like we're talking about Timmy here."

"Hey…I know, when stuff is bothering him. I just…don't know what that's all," McGee defended.

"Come on Tony, what's bothering you?" Abby asked calmingly.

"Ziva."

"That girl from the night club?" Tim questioned.

"Yes."

"She's also my best friend. Why didn't I know anything about this?"

"Maybe because it's private, Abs."

She gasped at him. "Tony what did you do?"

He stuck out his hands in surrender. "I…I basically told her that I thought she was my soulmate."

"Oh my goodness, really?" She squealed when he nodded, but then remembered. "Wait a minute, that's great, so why are you so sad?"

It took a lot for him to say it, mainly because of the giant lump in his throat. "She still doesn't want me", he croaked. Abby moved two steps closer to him and held out the stuffed hippo for him to take. He took it somewhat reluctantly, and hugged it causing it to make a farting noise.

The digital clock next to the bed red, _10:35. _On any regular day she would have gotten up five hours ago, but not today. Ziva lay smothered in her bed sheets, staring at the red numbers. She blinked when the time changed to _10:36._ Marni stood staring up at her from his spot on the floor. "Yes, I know your passed at me," He made a hiss that sounded strangely like the word, "pissed". "I will get up soon, and then I will brush your hair," She lifted her hand to feel her own hair, "as well as mine."

At 11:00, when she still hadn't gotten up, he jumped up on the bed and clawed at the fabric of her shirt. "Ow, Marni! Alright already, I am getting up."

The hot shower she took didn't help. The coffee she drank, and the breakfast she cooked, didn't help. Nothing helped to get rid of the memories of last night. _"We are not meant to be, Tony." _She could hear the words now. She looked down at her plate. Toast. Why did she have to make toast? And why did she have to burn the first piece? It was just like that morning. The morning she fled his apartment after spending a drunken night there. He had been so sweet and generous to let her stay there, and not once did he try to take advantage of her.

Walking into the living room she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. A man wearing an ugly powder blue suit was on the screen. "This collection of the greatest Frank Sinatra songs can be yours for just $29.95."

"_Just the way you look tonight." Click_, she needed to turn the channel, but the next channel wasn't much better. _"Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they're a modern Stone Age family." _The remote flew out of her hand when she sprang off the couch. "I gotta get out of here."

She made it out the door before the second verse, and sunk to the floor, breathing heavily. It figures that even when he's not here, the memories of him still manage to bug the crap out of her. Ziva heard the sound of a pair of slippers gliding across the floor and looked up.

"Ziva, are you alright?"

"No, not really Anna."

The older woman gave her a sympathetic smile and helped her up. Anna opened up the door to her apartment. "Go on in, I'll make us some tea, and we can talk about whatever made you so upset."

Ziva had been inside the Harbo's apartment a few times before, so she made herself comfortable, and took a seat on the loveseat in the living room. "Where's Cal?" she asked, looking up at the couple's wedding picture that hung on the wall behind her head.

"Oh, he's out fishing with a couple of his buddies from the fire department. Those old geezers have gotten together every couple of months since they've all retired. I don't even know why he goes, makes him happy I guess. " Anna came in carrying two small teacups that looked like they could be the most valuable things in the entire apartment. She took a sip of her tea and then turned to give Ziva her full attention. "So, what's up?"

Ziva looked back up at the wedding photo and then back down at the cup in her lap. "Anna, how long did it take for you to love Cal?"

Anna smiled. "Well, it wasn't love at first sight. It took a good while. The problem was that I didn't want to love him." Ziva lifted her gaze and listened intently. "It had nothing to do with who he was; I just didn't know what I wanted. My parents wanted me to marry a successful man. Someone who could support me, take care of me, but I wasn't a baby. I didn't want to be taken care of. I just wanted to be understood. Have someone to hold on to, when times get rough." She looked at the picture that Ziva had been looking at. "Someone…who would never leave…no matter how, horrible I may be to them sometimes, because they love me that much…that if they ever did leave, they'd always come back." The woman let out a long sigh and blinked her tears away, then looked back at Ziva, who appeared to be thinking about something. "What is it, dear?"

"It is Tony. I cannot understand him sometimes, yet he seems to understand me. He's annoying, and infuriating, and he makes me so confused. Somehow I feel something for him."

"You're meant to feel things."

Ziva picked the cup off her lap, and sat it on the table when she noticed it had begun to shake. "No, I am not meant to feel things."

Anna placed a reassuring hand on the young woman's knee. "Ziva as humans we are meant to feel."

"Then perhaps I am not human. I was always told that I am not allowed to have feelings." Ziva was surprised when that came out of her mouth. She was also surprised that even after that, Anna had not removed her hand, in fact she actually took both Ziva's hands in hers. She held it in a tight, but comforting grip.

"Tony obviously cares greatly about you. More than you may ever understand. More than he may ever understand. If you care about him as much as I believe you do, then everything will make more sense eventually, but the most important things, are those feelings right in here." She pointed to her heart.

"_It's not a matter of believing…it's a matter of feeling."_

Ziva remembered the words that Tony had spoken that night at the pond, and she felt like she was finally beginning to understand these strange feelings she was having.

They sat and talked a little while longer before Ziva's cellphone went off. She answered it. "Abby. Abby, slow down. What's wrong?" Her expression became stricken and she hung up the phone. She got up and started heading for the door.

"Ziva, what happened?" Anna asked, concerned.

"It's…it's Tony. He was shot. I must get to the hospital."

**I know what you're probably thinking. How could I do this to Tony? Ah, but this may be a good thing…or not. Will Ziva finally accept how she feels for Tony? **

**Feel free to comment or review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I apologize for the lack of medical detailing for this chapter. I don't know much about it, so that's why I kept it kinda brief. **

Chapter 10 – Is He Okay?

As she pulled up to the hospital it felt like her heart couldn't beat any faster than it already was. When Abby had called, Ziva could hardly understand a word she was saying. All she heard was that Tony had been shot. She had no idea what happened, where he was shot, or if he was even going to live. It was like somebody had placed a blindfold over her eyes and instructed her to solve a puzzle with a thousand pieces. It was that feeling of not knowing what to do that was taking over her. She was always in control of herself, but not now. Not until she knew if he was going to be ok or not.

"Yes, my name is Ziva David, I'm here about Anthony DiNozzo."

The nurse looked at her sheet, while Ziva impatiently tapped her foot. "He's on level two, room 110."

She took the stairs, because the elevator would be too long of a wait. When she finally reached the second floor she began searching frantically for room 110. She turned a corner and suddenly she felt someone grab a hold of her arm. She began fighting the person off. "Get you hand off of me!"

"Whoa calm down, just calm down." A man stepped into her vision, but the first thing she saw was the coffee cup in his hand. Her gaze dragged further up and met a pair of blue eyes. "You alright?" He asked.

For some reason Ziva found herself determined to not show weakness in front of this man. She had to strong. "I am fine." He nodded stiffly in return and leaned back against the wall, and took a sip of his coffee.

It was eerily quiet. They were the only two people in the waiting area besides a man and a little girl, who Ziva presumed was his daughter. The girl was asleep with her head resting on her father's shoulder, a white teddy bear in her lap and dampness on her cheeks, and for a moment Ziva thought she might weep at the sight. She noticed the six empty seats and looked up at the grey haired man with his coffee who was leaning against the wall. "Would you like to sit down?" He looked over at her and down at the chairs, then back up again. "Me neither", she said, and the man had the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. Ziva leaned against the wall opposite him. Her mind was asking so many questions. _Where was Abby and McGee? Who was this man? Where were the doctors and nurses? Is Tony ok? _

"You here for DiNozzo?" he asked, even though he figured the answer out for himself.

"Yes," he gave her a look she replied, "I am a friend."

He seemed to except the answer. "I'm Gibbs."

_Gibbs? _She had heard Tony say that name before. It was his boss's name. "You're….Boss?"

The smirk became fuller. "Yup."

"I am Ziva David." They shook hands. From the way he was looking at her, it appeared as though she had been mentioned before, perhaps even a couple of times.

"Ziva!" Abby came running up to her, giving her a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're here", she cried. All Ziva could do was hold her. She looked over to McGee. They nodded a silent greeting, and then Tim put his hand on Abby's shoulder. The distraught woman turned to face him and sunk into his embrace.

Ziva watched the two in their intimate exchange, and noticed that Gibbs too was watching them before he looked away, and she did also.

"They took him in about an hour ago. It's gonna be a while, McGee take Abs home."

"Gibbs." Abby protested, removing her head from McGee's shoulder.

"You both need some rest. Now go on, get out of here. I'll call if I hear anything."

Ziva observed in amazement as the two grabbed their things and left. "Do they always follow your orders like that?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Uh huh." He looked down at the styrofoam cup in his hand and then back up to her. "You wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"I am not hungry." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't ask if you were hungry or not. I asked if you wanted a bite to eat."

_Who does this man think he is? _She thought, slightly taken back. "No. I do not want anything to eat. What I want is for someone to give me some answers."

"I thought you had to ask questions first."

They stared at each other, their faces not moving a muscle, until she broke out in laughter and a small smile curled his lips. It was the only thing either of them could do to try and hold themselves together. Ziva quickly quieted and nodded her head. "Ok. I think I will eat something." It would be the first time that day that she actually felt like eating.

As they waited for the next couple of hours, she told him about how she and Tony had met, and about their friendship. Gibbs didn't talk much, but he was a good listener.

It was 8:00 at night when they finally heard something about Tony's condition. A male doctor with black hair and glasses approached them. "My name is Dr. Whileman, I performed the surgery on Mr. DiNozzo to remove a bullet that had lodged itself near his left thigh, close to the hip. We were able to remove the bullet safely. should make a full recovery, however his tasks will be limited for several weeks."

"When can we see him?" Ziva asked urgently.

"He most likely won't wake up for another hour or so, but you're welcome to go see him."

Before the doctor could even finish, Ziva hurried into his room. She approached the bed slowly, and stood in front of it. "How did this happen, Gibbs?" she heard him sigh, but never removed her eyes from the man in the bed.

"The lead suspect in the case we've been investigating caught him off guard when we were picking him up."

"And let me guess, after that you caught the suspect off guard?"

"Nope. McGee did."

"I must thank him for that later." She said, more to herself.

"I'm gonna go phone Abs."

When she heard the door click shut, she stood up walked over to the window that was to the right of Tony. Ziva peered out of the window, and then looked back at where he lay on the bed. He looked so fragile, so different, yet so similar to the drunken man he was last night. Something inside her ached to touch him, but like everything else, she pushed the urge away. She grunted and turned away from him.

"There's that damn moon. It appears to be only half full tonight." She could hardly bring herself to look out at it, as she sucked in a harsh breath. "I hate you for making me feel these things. And if you think I am going to cry over you, you're mistaken. I refuse to cry for you." Even though all the while as she was saying those words, Ziva could feel the burning sensation and the tears start to pool. She couldn't do this anymore. She had fought her fight…and now it was time to surrender.

And the first tear came like a tiny flood in a single drop.

"We never realize how much we need someone until they're almost gone, do we not? I never thought I would say this…but I need you Anthony DiNozzo. In a selfish way, I need you. I need you to annoy me, and anger me, and love me, and make me regret every day I ever spent without you." She sniffed and let out a small sob, then whispered," I am not sure I could ever be without you."

The man in the bed behind her cracked one eye open. "You know I've been awake this entire time, don't you?"

"Oh shut up", she cried, turning around to face him.

He reached out to grab her hand. "Come here." She let him pull her over to sit next to him on the bed. Ziva leaned down to cup his cheek, and then kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you", he whispered.

She tried to pull back, but he held her tighter. "I…I am not sure if I can say it yet."

Tony surprisingly only felt a little disappointed. She said _"yet"_, meaning that the words would come eventually. He would just have to be patient. "That's ok." He pulled her so she was lying next to him with her head on his chest.

They laid in each other's arms peacefully, feeling one another's breath on their skin and the steady beating of their hearts. "So, now can we go on that date?"

Ziva laughed at his question. "Yes."

Tony smiled and reached over and pressed one of the buttons on the side of the bed. A few seconds later a younger looking nurse with short brown hair entered. "You need something, Mr. DiNozzo?"

"Yes Amy. Get me your finest dish on the menu."

Amy laughs. "Coming right up."

When she closed the door, Ziva looked up at him speechless. "What? You said yes, so I figured why wait. And besides we've got everything we need right here, a bed, food, friendly service at the press of a button." He leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips, which made her smile in return.

A few minutes later Amy re-entered carrying a small tray. When she left Ziva said, "This is actually strangely romantic."

"See what did I tell you. So what kind of Jell-O do you want Zi? Strawberry or Grape?"

When Gibbs came back from calling Abby he was greeted with the sound of laughter coming from inside the room. He took it as a good sign. Yup, DiNozzo's doing just fine.

**Food for thought – I wonder what grape Jell- O would taste like? I've never actually had it. **

**Reviews would be lovely, as well as any comments, or random thoughts you wish to share (I love those too!)**

**Till the next chapter…**

**Love to all **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I must say, you all are awesome! This story has reached over 50 reviews. That is wonderful. I'm so thrilled that you all are enjoying it. Thank you so very much! Now, this chapter is more of a filler, cause I've been suffering writers block (writers block sucks!) Also, I'm not sure if any of the medical stuff is accurate, so if it's not I apologize for that.**

**Disclaimer: Still applies**

Chapter 11 – Some Things Are Meant To Be

Tony was out of the hospital within a couple of days. He would have to use crutches to help him walk. He couldn't stand them and told Ziva that he would much rather stay in one spot and not move at all than have to use the things. He was not allowed to go back to work for several weeks, and when he did he would be on desk duty, another thing that Tony wasn't exactly pleased with. For the meantime, Ziva had told him that he would be staying at her apartment, and that would be the end of that.

"Make yourself at home, Tony." Ziva opened the door and set down Tony's suitcase filled with everything he would need for the next few weeks.

"Ziva, you know you really don't have to do this. I'm sure I'd be fine at my apartment."

"Nonsense Tony, I want you to stay here."

He hopped over to her. "Really?"

She gave him a smile that could almost be classified as shy. "Yes." She nodded. "Now where would you like to sleep?" Tony looked like he was about to say something and then stopped himself. "What is it?"

"Well, I was thinking that since we're…together…I mean you do wanna be…"

"With you. Yes, Tony, I do."

"Good, cause I wanna be with you too."

"You wish for us to sleep together, yes?"

He chuckled and his grin became cocky. "Oh absolutely, though I think we should probably wait till I've healed a bit more first."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "I meant we can _sleep _in the same bed."

"I knew that." She laughed and brought his suitcase into the bedroom setting it down on the bed. "Ah, I could use a nap." Tony sighed.

"Not right now, we need to get ready."

"Get ready for what?"

"I invited a couple people over for dinner." She walked over to the closet and started sifting through the average amount of clothes. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Tony freeze his current movement of yawning. His expression made her almost want to laugh, but she settled for an amused smirk.

"What people?" He asked coming up to stand behind her.

"Friends."

"Whose friends."

She huffed and turned to face him. "Yours and mine."

"Our."

She looked confused for a moment. "Yes, we have about an hour."

"No. Our, as in our friends."

"Yes, our friends."

"I like the sound of that." He noticed her difficulty deciding on an outfit so he stepped in. "Here, wear this one." He dug his hand all the way in the very back and pulled out a sleek brown dress that was simple yet appropriate for the evening. It went down to just below the knees and had thick straps.

"How could you even see that all the way back there?"

He shrugged. "Maybe my eyes specialize in choosing beautiful things." He was staring right at her when he said it. _How does he do that; be so romantic? _She wondered. "Like my new Armani suit I just bought." _Annnd…that's more like it._

"Just go take your shower…and make sure not to get your bandages wet", she called as he shut the bathroom door.

"Ow,ow,ow."

Ziva quickly dropped her dress that she was just about to put on, and knocked on the bathroom door. "Tony, are you alright?" When she didn't receive an answer she opened the door. Tony had his back facing her as he struggled to remove his pants. "Here, let me help you with that." Her voice made him jump causing a searing pain to abrupt in his leg. Tony had to grind his teeth to keep from shrieking. Turning around to face her he feared he may have an even bigger problem in his pants, I mean, on his hands. _She looks good in white lace. _"What? Why are you giving me that look?"

He managed to regain his brain cells long enough to ask, "What, what look?"

"That look like you want to eat me."

_Ok, that was totally the wrong thing to say right now, _he thought. "Ziva, would you just help me? And maybe…cover up a little bit?" He pointed down and she followed his gaze to her scantily clad body.

Instead of shrieking like some women would, she simply shrugged. "What's the matter Tony? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

He dry swallowed when she refused to cover herself up. Ziva gave an appreciative glance at his bare chest. _This man is like an animal. And I'm all for being his prey. _"Uh…on second thought, I think I can get my pants." Ziva stepped directly into his territory, a hungry glint in her eyes. It now looked like perhaps she was the one who wanted to sink her teeth into him. His eyes widened as her hand moved lower and lower making a slow track to the front of his pants. "Danger, Will Robinson. Danger!" He heard himself say, though he doubted Ziva did.

Pop went the button, and down went the zipper. "Uh oh." He gave a nervous chuckle. Her hands then by passed the forbidden zone completely and traveled up his chest instead. Her fingers plowed through his chest hair and ended up circling around his neck. She bit his bottom lip, but quickly hushed his whimper with her tongue as it slide into his mouth. It felt like she had three tongues all of them programmed to produce abundant amounts of pleasure.

Then suddenly, there was no tongue, no teeth, no lips, and no pleasure, only its aftermath.

"You might want to make that shower extra cold. Looks like you're going to need it." She slapped his cheek and turned around, giving him a scrumptious look at her panties on the way out.

"You will so pay for that, David." He shook his head at the muffled sound of her laughter that followed.

"When are they gonna be here?" Tony asked as he more like attempted to pace around the living room on his crutches.

"Tony will you stop dancing around like you've got spiders in your pants."

"It's ants, but I'm sure spiders would be just as uncomfortable." He walked over to where she stood at the stove. "You were being cruel back there in the bathroom. Way to kick a man when he's down, Zee-vah."

She gave a small snort. "Really, Tony, in your case I thought it was up." She smirked. "However, eventually I will make it up to you."

He didn't voice it, but he hoped that 'eventually' would come soon, as well as the other 'eventually' that she had claimed she couldn't tell him yet in the hospital. To Tony an 'I love you' is a big thing, for the somewhat traditional kind of man that he was. Though he knew his life was anything but traditional, and Ziva's appeared to be very much the same. And he wouldn't push her. She would say it when she felt it was the right time.

She had just taken the pan of lasagna out of the oven when there was a knock at the door. As soon as she opened it, she felt like she couldn't breathe. "Abby, uh, you're squishing me." Her cheek was pressed into the excited woman's shoulder causing her to sound almost baby like.

"Oop, sorry Ziva."

"Abby?" Tony asked as he came over to the door.

"Tony!" Abby surprised everyone, including herself, when she minded Tony's injuries and gave him an air hug instead.

"Tim, how great of you to come." Ziva smiled.

"Thanks for inviting me Ziva."

"McGee, what in the name of Probieland are you doing here?"

"Ziva invited me", McGee said smugly, coming over to stand next to Tony.

"Yeah, I got that but…" He stopped when he heard Ziva introduce the next guest. _How many people did she invite?_

"It is wonderful to meet you, Ducky. And you must be Jimmy." Tony gave McGee a questioning look at which he just shrugged back.

"Anthony how are you? I have not seen you since you were admitted to the hospital. You know, I remember back when I just a young lad like yourself, and my Father…"

Tony put his hand up to cover his mouth and made a 'ding' sound. "Man, is it time for that bread to come out of the oven already? Excuse me Ducky while I go check on that." On his way to the kitchen he grabbed Ziva by the arm and dragged her with him.

"What Tony?"

"Ziva, why exactly are all my friends from work here?"

"It was Abby's idea. She wanted to do something for you to celebrate your coming home from the hospital", she said in a hushed voice.

"Okay, well at least Boss isn't here….he's behind me, isn't he." Ziva winced at the sound of the slap delivered to his head. He turned around to face Gibbs, putting on an overly bright smile. "Boss, what a surprise. It's great to see you…"

"DiNozzo."

"Yes Boss?"

"Shut up."

"Gibbs." Ziva gave him a nod. Tony whipped his head around to face her.

"Ziva." The older man returned her nod.

Tony's gaze flicked back and forth between the two of them. "You, you two know each other."

"Yes Tony. I met Gibbs when you were in the hospital." And she ended it there.

Tony could tell that the two had obviously bonded in some way while he was in the hospital, but he knew that it was merely on a friendship kind of level. In some ways he could see how his boss and Ziva were somewhat similar to one another. Two people running from the pains of their pasts, and though they would never admit it, they're too scared and afraid to face the possibility of that pain again.

The dinner conversation stayed light. As usual Gibbs hardly talked at all, but laughed on occasion at the absurd nature of his loved ones. The sound was like an open invitation that everyone responded to and soon everyone had loosened up a bit. It felt nice…like everything belonged, and for the first time Ziva realized that this is what a true family must look like. _These people are a family. They all mean something to one another, and they have opened their hearts and have welcomed me in to become a part of that. Maybe it was meant to be that way all along. _Ziva remembered what her Ima had told her once. "_There are things in this world that are meant to be, and some things that are not, but…we must keep in our hearts and minds, that what is meant to be…will come to us eventually."_

Ziva looked at the man sitting next to her, a wide smile on his face as he listened to the stories that were being told around the table. How is it that when he smiles she automatically feels the urge to do the same?

Tony felt his hand reach out for Ziva's under the table…at the same time she reached out for his. The two hands bumped each other at first, but then settled together. And at that moment, it felt as though all was wonderfully right, and nothing could ever be wrong.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: There are way too many August birthday's in my family. And my Mom is always the one who has to bake the cakes. So, I've been super busy lately. Not to mention, eating a lot of cake lately. It's not very healthy, but it's oh so good. **

**P.S. – I really appreciate all of the lovely reviews. If I could send each and every one of you a piece of cake, I so would. **

Chapter 12 – You, Me…and Marni

Tony was bored. He'd been staying at Ziva's apartment for the past two weeks, and things had been going well, except for the fact that Ziva was barely around. She was always working or going to rehearsals. So, most of the time he was by himself, and with Marni of course. The black haired feline was currently curled up in Tony's lap as he sat on the couch. Tony and Marni had actually formed a friendship of sorts since the first night he had stayed over. Ziva had 'accidently' forgotten to mention that the cat slept in bed with her almost every night. So, it was Ziva on the left, Tony on the right, and Marni stretched out in the middle. It reminded Tony of when he was younger; how sometimes during a thunderstorm he would want to sleep with his parents in their room, but his father would never let him. His father would tell him to "_Stop acting like a child and go back to your room," _but Tony wondered when a seven-year old wasn't considered a child anymore.

A couple times that night he had rolled over in his sleep and woke to a high pitched screeching sound and sharp claws in his back. The first time it happened he had joked, "_You got quite the bedside manner there, Ziva."_ He chuckled at the memory of her telling him to, _"Shut up and go back to sleep or I will make sure Marni does more than just scratch you."_ The next morning it appeared that Marni had made himself comfortable, and was lying fast asleep on Tony's chest. And ever since, Marni has been constantly seeking Tony's affection.

Tony was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the door being closed. He turned around to see Ziva take off her coat and hat, she had a funny look on her face; a mix between frustrated and charmed.

"Ziva, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off twirling around in a hot little tutu right now?" He followed her movements as she glided into the living room and stood tall in front of him.

"I have decided to take the day off."

"Ziva what's wrong?" Tony made a move to stand, but she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing is wrong Tony."

"Well, there has to be. Why else would you take off so suddenly?"

She got down on her knees to kneel in front of him, giving him a small smile. "Maybe I just wanted to spend the day with you." She felt bad about the past few days and how they hadn't spent much time together.

He gave her a look of understanding. "Okay. So what do you wanna do?"

Ziva's face split into a smile that almost outranked his.

"This, is what you wanted to do," he yelled. The earplugs were making it difficult to hear, as well as the constant sound of bullets being fired.

"Yes." There was an unhealthy amount of excitement in her voice as she stepped up to her spot and lifted her pant leg, taking her gun out of its holster.

"Why does that not surprise me," he stood uncomfortably behind her leaning against the wall with his crutches. "So, you're a dancer, part ninja chick, and you know how to fire a gun."

She shot off three rounds, and then looked over her shoulder at him. "Oh, I can do much more than that."

"I'm sure you can." He gave an obvious leer.

"Would you like to, give it a go?" She added with air quotes.

"You've been saving that one up for a while now, haven't you." Her eyes rolled. "Uh…I don't know. It's probably not a good idea."

"Oh, I apologize, I forgot about that." She pointed to his crutches.

"Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness."

"What?"

"It's a Gibbs thing. He has this list of rules…"

"And that is one of them?"

"Yeah."

She hummed her answer, and then examined the target. Her eyes lit up and a somewhat smug look was present on her delicate face, upon noticing that all of her hits were spot on.

Tony came up behind her to look over her shoulder. "Wow. You're almost as good as Gibbs."

"Amost?" Ziva looked up at him.

"Where'd you learn to shoot?"

There was slight hesitation for a moment. "My father taught me." It was obviously a touchy subject.

"Your father. What was he like?"

She bent down to place her gun back on her leg. "You do not want to know."

"Actually, I do."

She stood straight. "When you tell me about yours, I'll tell you about mine."

Tony found himself sighing. He wasn't really sure what to think about her statement. All he could figure was that her relationship with her father had to be much more complicated than his relationship with his father would ever be.

"So, when will you be done with those?" Ziva asked as she took her seat across from him in the booth. They had decided to go to a diner for lunch. Tony had been adamant that she experience a piece of true American culture. His childlike enthusiasm was undeniably cute, though she would never say that aloud. She really had no intention of saying no to eating at the little diner, but his devotion to the subject was amusing to watch.

"I'm going to the doctors next week. If all goes well, I won't have to use these anymore." He pointed to the crutches that were resting beside him on the seat. There was a small frown line on his forehead though the actual frown was never present when he looked over at them.

"Tony, are you alright?"

He turned to face her. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." He shrugged before opening his menu. Ziva knew something was on his mind, but for now she just shrugged it off as well.

An older woman with hair as pink as cotton candy and glasses of about the same shade came up to the table. "Anthony, I haven't seen you here in ages." Her wrinkled face got a little more puckered when she noticed the crutches. "Oh, you poor boy. What happened to you?"

"Just…work. Nothing to worry about."

She looked over at Ziva with a wide smile, so wide it's a wonder her dentures didn't pop out. "My, my, my, what a beauty you are." Ziva smiled back at the perky waitress who reminded her slightly of an older, more pink, version of Abby.

"Dory, this is my gir…friend Ziva." They had yet to use the term boyfriend or girlfriend, and Tony wasn't quite sure why that was, but he gave himself a mental head slap for almost using the term. Ziva looked slightly taken back, but also slightly hurt, and now he felt like giving himself a bigger head slap. _Idiot, why did you have to say 'friend'. You know she's more than a friend to you._

"Well, it's nice to meet you dear. Now, what can I get you two?" Dory reached up and removed a pencil from her perm and a notepad from her apron.

"Uh, I'll have a Philly cheesesteak, extra steak, extra cheese, with an order of fries and a coke." Tony ended his order with a smile, like he did with almost everything.

"And you?" The waitress turned to Ziva.

"Um…I think I'll just have a salad." She smiled, ignoring Tony's eye roll at the news that she was eating vegetables again.

"Okay, I'll be back with your orders soon."

After she left Ziva put her arms on the table and leaned in, Tony naturally leaned towards her across the table. "Dory?" She questioned.

"Yeah, her real name is Dorothy, but she prefers Dory. I used to come here a lot when I transferred to DC from Baltimore. I guess after a while, I just became too busy to come back again." She tilted her head to the side as if thinking about what he said, and he looked out the window as they waited for their food to come.

About ten minutes later, it came.

"Oh Ziva, you have got to try this."

She frowned at the glob of cheese dripping down his chin. "I think I'll pass on that." Picking up a napkin, she reached over and wiped off the cheese on his chin. It had become such a natural act for the past few weeks that neither one thought anything of it.

"Come on, Zi. Just one bite, I promise you'll love it."

"Fine. Now where should I bite? Where that big chunk was taken out of the side, or where you bulldozed through the middle?"

He opened his mouth in fake shock at the teasing insult. "So I take big bites. What's the big deal? Now are you gonna try it or not?"

Ziva yanked it out of his hands and took a big messy bite out of it, greasy cheese and meat sticking to the sides of her mouth. "There, happy now?!" His smile got wider and he started laughing. When he plucked a piece of shredded beef off her cheek and ate it, she began laughing too. "That was actually, really good," she said still chuckling a bit.

"See, sometimes trying new things can be a good thing." Ziva found that she had to agree with that.

Later that night they lay in bed. 'They', of course meaning all three of them. "Ziva, is there any way you could get this cat to stop clawing at my chest? "He had known she was still awake for an hour now.

Ziva chuckled and turned her body to face him. "He likes you, Tony."

"Well he's got a painful way of showing it. If I wake up missing a nipple I'm gonna be very pissed." It became silent and he wished he could see her face in the darkness to try to determine what was troubling her. "Ziva?"

"Yes Tony?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

She gave a small giggle and then sighed. "Yes Tony."

He turned to lie on his side, facing her, and unsurprisingly the cat stayed on his chest, holding on by his claws. Tony reached out to finger her hair that she always kept down when she went to bed. "What made you change your mind about me? I mean, for a while there you didn't want me."

Ziva reached over his body and flipped on the lamp, causing Tony to shield his eyes. She needed to see him. He needed to not only hear what she was about to say, but see it and understand it too. She sat up and so did he. "It is not that I didn't want you. It's that I didn't want, to want you. I did not want to get in to something I would never be able to come out of unbruised. If we ever ended…"

"We're not going to." He spoke with a fierce amount of confidence.

"My point is, I realized that you are in my life not because you have to be, but because you choose to be. Do you know how much that means to me, to think that somebody actually wants to be with me? I always felt like…nobody ever really wanted me. Not my family, not my previous boyfriends, and I know it is wrong of me to want to be wanted but…"

"No, it not. I never felt wanted either. I mean, I have but it's always been for the wrong reasons. My family didn't want me either. My mom was the only one that cared about me, and she died when I was eight. My dad, I never quite understood what was up with him, still don't. What I'm trying to say is that…it's not wrong, to want to be loved, or to want someone to want and need you. They're natural feelings, Ziva.

"You make me feel more wanted than I ever have before."

He leaned in so that their lips were only a breath apart. "That's because I want to be with you."

"You are with me. We are in this together, "she whispered and their lips met. "You…" and they kissed again. "and me." And they kissed again, this one deeper, and Tony reached over to pull her closer. When she scooted closer, never breaking the connection of their lips, Marni let out a 'meow'. Their lips disconnected due to her laughter and Tony's frustrated groan.

"And we can't forget about Marni, because he's on this little love journey with us too. Seriously Ziva, this cat needs to get his own bed."

Against Marni's wishes, Ziva pulled him off of Tony's chest and over to the other side of the bed. Instead, Ziva took up Marni's previous pillow, and placed her head on Tony's shoulder. He pulled her closer to him and rested his head over top of hers, and all was silent while they slept in each other's arms.

**Wow. I think all these sweet treats have put me in an extra fluffy mood. Not that that's a bad thing. **

**Review, comment, ask questions, PM me, favorite, etc. **

**I love you all…sorry if that creeps you out. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: First off I would like to say thank you once again for the wonderful reviews, comments, and questions from the last chapter. **

**Here are the answers to your questions**

**A guest asked: **_Why was Ziva upset at the beginning of the chapter? (Chapter 12)_

**That is a good question. I'm not really sure why I made her seem upset (crazy muse.) I would say that she wasn't really upset, maybe just a little frustrated with work and the lack of time that she got to spend with Tony. I think that may have been why she came off as being a little upset. Thank you for reviewing and asking your question, I hope that clears things up. :)**

**Amanda asked: **_Will there be another chapter? _

**Yes. This is a new chapter. And for anyone who is wondering, I'm not sure how long this story will be, but it will most likely reach over 20 chapters, possibly over 30. I don't have a lot written and I don't have much of a plan for this story, so it's mostly whatever my muse is in the mood for. Thank you for asking your question. :)**

**If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask me in a review, or you may PM me. I will always try to answer them.**

**Disclaimer: Still applies**

Chapter 13 – The Invitation

"Tony. Tony, wake up." He was sprawled out on his stomach in the middle of the bed. One arm was flung up on the headboard, the other hanging off the side of the mattress, and his legs were spread apart at the foot of the bed. A small soggy spot lay next to the pillow that she was thinking about smothering him with. He was not a cover hog, oh no, he was a bed hog. It almost made Ziva feel better about her own sleep habits (_cough,cough._ Like snoring.)

She had been up for three hours. She'd showered, dressed, gone for her run, and even made a nice breakfast. Tony however was still asleep, even though his doctor's appointment was in an hour. Ziva stood at the foot of the bed, observing the scene in front of her. She had to wake him, but how? She could pour water on him; nah, something else. Swinging her leg over the side of the bed she straddled his back. He was already starting to wake up due to the extra weight on his back. Her nails lightly scratched up and down his shirtless back. He groaned. "Marni", he gritted through his teeth. One hand traveled to his hair and the other pinned his arm to the headboard.

"Noooo….Zee-vaah", she purred in his ear before giving it a lick.

He turned to lie on his back, and she took advantage of his position and pinned both his arms to the headboard. "Whoa, my ninja. What are you doing?" He looked down and was met with the top of her head as she placed a frenzy of kisses along his chest. Ignoring the question, Ziva moved up to his neck and began to suck on a particularly tasty spot. His eyes closed and his head hit the headboard, causing them to open again. Her lips moved up to his jaw, then his cheek, and right before reaching his lips, she swung her legs back over the bed and started walking towards the door. Tony sat up. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

Her eyes did their impression of an elevator and her lips imitated a cheshire cat. "You have a doctor's appointment in an hour; you must get ready."

He threw his hands in the air. "Do you have to be such a tease?"

Her chuckle was like a river of maple syrup to his ears. "Oh…yesss..."

He watched her hips bounce as she walked away. He could hear her humming from the kitchen, and quietly he got out of bed. She was bent over and looking in the fridge, when he crept up behind her. He grabbed her waist and she shrieked. "God, Tony. You scared me!" She smacked him hard on his chest.

He laughed. "Ooh… I scared you, did I?"

"No, it was merely a reflex," she shrugged off.

"Reflex…right."

All through the car ride to the doctor's office, Tony was silent. It was obvious he was thinking. His eyebrows were squished together and his eyes were squinted in concentration. "I see you making your thinking face." Her voice didn't seem to faze him. He just continued to stare straight ahead. "May I ask what it is you are thinking about?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing", he replied glancing at her quickly out of the corner of his eyes. She barked a laugh, then turned to him in concern, but didn't say anything as they pulled into the parking lot.

The doctor had told him that his side had fully healed up, and that now he could go back to work, and do more active things without needing his crutches anymore. Tony should have been happy about it, and he was…sort of. It's just, now he wouldn't need to stay with Ziva anymore. And over the past few weeks he had gotten used to eating all his meals with her, and going to sleep with her warm body next to him every night, and waking up the same way. It would be hard to leave that little apartment of hers, with all its ordinary necessities, as well as the unexpected treasure found there. He would be going back to his apartment that smelled like stale alcohol and his armpit, as well as a hint of…well, just about 100 different nasty smells that made it without a doubt his place. Ziva's place was clean, cozy, and soft; kind of like his grandmother's house, except without the chocking smell of incents, and a stuffed moose head mounted to the wall that you referred to as your date after having too much eggnog at the annual DiNozzo Christmas party when you were twenty-three. Maybe the real reason why Tony liked Ziva's place so much was really just because it was Ziva's, and it houses everything that is her. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Well, that went well, don't you think," she stated as she grabbed his hand to help him walk to the car.

He gazed over at her in slight surprise at the action. They had yet to show such intimacy in a public place. "Yeah. Yeah, it did." She smiled at him and he felt a surge of confidence. For a while he would forget about his sadness at the thought of going back to his lonely apartment, and just focused on her.

When they got back to the apartment Ziva decided to check her mail. Opening it up, there was a stack of different colored envelopes. It looked like there had to be at least thirty pieces of mail shoved inside the little box. "When was the last time you checked your mail," he snorted from behind her.

She slammed the box shut and twirled around, bumping into his chest. "I'll have you know that I check my mail regularly."

"And when's that, every six months," he smirked.

"Maybe I just get a lot of mail. I do know quite a few people." She walked up the stairs, and then stopped when she reached her door and took out her key.

He pranced up behind her, enjoying the freedom of not needing crutches to help him. "Oh, really? And what kinds of people do you know?

She threw him a look over her shoulder. "All kinds."

He laughed. "I have no doubts about that, my ninja."

He flung himself over the sofa, wincing slightly, and his hand automatically went to his side.

"You really shouldn't do that Tony. We wouldn't want your recovery time to be extended." She gave him a seductive glance, letting him know exactly what she meant.

"_Avoid strenuous activities until fully recovered," _was what the doctor had told him. "_No sex, no sex, no sex," _was being chanted, but from which part of his body, he wasn't sure. He sat up and grunted. "Huh. Maybe you're right."

She continued flipping through the mail muttering to herself all the while. "Bill, another bill….Tony what is this?"

His head popped up from over the couch and all she could see was the little light brown spikes of his hair. "What is what, Ziva?" He squeezed his eyes shut at the slight guilt in his voice. He heard the sound of her bare feet, (she couldn't stand wearing shoes in her apartment, or barley even socks for that matter) move across the hardwood floor and come to a halt in front of him.

Ziva bit her lip to keep from laughing at his expression; he still had his eyes closed and it looked like he was attempting to curl into the fetal position. "Tony…you can open your eyes, I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly his eyes began to open. "A GSM magazine, really Tony?"

"Hey…that's…that's not, mine."

It made her wonder if he was like this when he was younger and was caught doing something naughty. _Oh God, now you're the one having naughty thoughts, _the voice in her head had to point out. Ziva chuckled and looked down at the cover that had an attractive blonde wearing almost nothing on the cover. "Do you really think you will need this, Tony? After all we are together now." His eyes darkened and his body gave a slight twitch that caused her to smirk. She loved getting a reaction out of him.

"Um…"

"What do these women have that I do not?" Ziva placed her hands on her hips to toy with him even further.

_She's teasing me again. Well, we'll see about that, Miss Da-veed._ He stood swiftly, startling her, even though she tried to hide it. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her flush against him, causing the magazine to fall to the floor. "There's nothing I want more than you. Nothing will ever compare." He breathed against her lips, and one hand glided up to her waist while the other went up to her ear. This briefly distracted her from his lips. His fingers brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. When she went to push her lips closer to his, she was met with the stubble of his cheek instead. She growled and slapped his cheek. He laughed. "That's two points for DiNozzo," he declared.

"Two points?"

"Yeah, one for when I scared you this morning, and now."

"That was a reflex."

"Whatever you say, Daveed."

She ignored him and went back to the kitchen table where the pile of mail sat. Tony looked down thoughtfully at the magazine on the floor and sighed, before picking it up and walking over to the trash can. "What are you doing?"

"I really meant it, Ziva. You're right, I don't need this."

She quickly snatched the magazine out of his hand. "Well, I might want it. I heard they have some very good articles in here. Who knows, maybe I could pick up some…tips."

He wiggled his eyebrows. "Tips."

"Uh huh," she winked.

There was a little purple envelope that poked out from between an electric bill, and an advertisement for Hoveround. Why the hell was she even getting an advertisement like that? Ziva chuckled as she read the return address on the purple envelope. Opening it she exclaimed, "It's from Anna."

"You mean the one who lives across the hall?"

"Yes."

"Why would she send it to you if she lives right across the hall?"

"Because, Anna is like that; she is the same way when she wants to come over; she'll always call first even though I tell her she does not have too."

"Hmm…so what's it about?" He stood behind her and placed his chin on her head. She either didn't notice the action or didn't care. It pleased him that she wasn't bothered by his closeness anymore and was more open to it, unlike how she was when they first met.

"The Harbo's 40th wedding anniversary is next week. Apparently their somewhat estranged daughter, who they haven't heard from in four years, has decided to throw them a celebration at her home in Oakland, Maryland."

"Huh. So, do you wanna go?" He twisted one of her curls around his finger and unwound it, causing it to curl up even more.

"Yes. I think it should be nice, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright. I'll just go let Anna know."

When she began walking to the door, Tony remembered. "Um…Ziva. Since I don't need my crutches anymore, and I'm able to do stuff on my own now, I guess this means I'll be going back to my place soon."

A confused frown appeared on her face, before it went back in to hiding. _"But, I don't want you to go",_ her heart said though her voice replied, "Oh, yes, well, if you wish you may stay here for the remainder of the week. Then when we come back from the party you can…" She stopped there.

"Right, gotcha." He replied.

They stood there awkwardly. "I'm just gonna go let Anna know that we will be attending."

"OK. I'll go with you."

They could hear what sounded like pots and pans being banged together, before a flushed looking Anna answered the door wearing a hot pink apron with the words 'HON Fest' in the middle, and her hair was wrapped up in a large bandanna that made her look like a gypsy, especially with the few little light brown curls of hair that peaked out of the sides. "Oh, Tony, Ziva. How nice to see you."

"Hello Anna." They both replied.

"Well, come on in. I was just about to start my fourth batch of homemade tomato soup. You see, we order our tomatoes from the farmers market down the street; they have the cheapest prices for the best produce. So anyway, Cal went down there the other day to pick up the order, and it turns out that we got a lot more than we paid for. But…they insisted that we keep the extra ones, free of charge. So…can I interest you kids in some tomato soup?" She pointed to the kitchen table where at least twenty jars of soup were stacked in rows.

"Wow, Anna that's a lot", Ziva commented.

"Yeah. So, will you take some?"

"Sure, my kitchen could use some more food. These past few weeks Tony's inhaled just about every edible item in the apartment."

"I beg your pardon. If I recall, I wasn't the one who ate an entire bag of Cheetos in one sitting."

"Hey! That bag was only half full," she defended pointing her finger at him.

Anna laughed. "You two have been hanging around Cal and me too much. I swear you're just like we are. Anyway, did you get the invitation?"

"Yes. Tony and I would be delighted to come."

Anna smiled. "Great!" She clapped her hands together. "Now, do either of you know how to get tomato stains out of curtains?"

Tony and Ziva looked at each other, and Anna's eyes moved back and forth like one of those cat clocks.

After several seconds of silence Ziva only managed a, "Uh….."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own.**

**A/N: Thanks for the amazing reviews and all the wonderful questions and comments for this story so far. My writers block has been driving me absolutely crazy, so I'm sorry if this chapter isn't that good. **

**Answers to your questions**

**A guest asked: **_Will Tony go back to his place? _**Well, you will find out about that soon, but not in this chapter.**

**Hailey asked: **_Will there be extended chapters? _**I'm not entirely sure what you mean by extended, but if you mean longer and more drawn out chapters, then I would say that most chapters should be pretty long.**

**Spitfire303 asked:**_ Where did you get the idea from? _**If you're referring to the story – Well I always kind of liked the idea of them meeting under different circumstances, and at different times. I always wondered what their relationship would be like if that was the case.**

**Special thanks to KillingWithAPaperClip for reviewing and letting me know about my grammatical errors for the earlier chapters. I actually hadn't even realized they were there (Lol), so thank you for telling me. I went back and corrected them, so I think their all fixed now. :)**

Chapter 14 – Where Are We?

Cindy Harbo Franklin Bailer Scott was the thirty-seven year-old daughter of Calvin and Anna Harbo. Four years ago, she married her third husband, and hadn't tried to make contact with her parents since. To Ziva's slight surprise, Cindy was one subject Anna didn't have much to say about. Anna did, however, say that Cindy had no children, and that both of her husbands' deaths seemed a little…strange. If you think falling into a giant kiln and being cooked up like the witch in 'Hansel and Gretel' (1st husband), or, hung by the neck on a close line right between socks and delicates (2nd husband) is…just a little strange. After marrying her third husband, Lionel, she moved to Maryland, and now, suddenly, she has decided to throw a party for her parent's 40th wedding anniversary; and now Tony and Ziva were driving on their way to that party.

"Zee-vaah, you said turn left down Green Mill Road, stop when you get to the fork, and then go right. That is exactly what you said," he declared for about the fifth time in two minutes. The windshield wipers whipped back and forth making a squeaking sound that made him want to rip the damn things off the car completely.

"No, I said go down Green Mill Road, stop at the little 'V' thingy you call a 'fork', and make a left," Ziva emphasized from the passenger's seat.

"Let me see the map."

"Tony, you can barely read your own hand writing. I doubt you'll be able to read this." She flung him the map anyway and crossed her arms.

They had gotten off the main roads a little while ago, and onto more bumpy and less traveled ones. The ride had been going smoothly until about fifteen minutes ago when it started down pouring, and Tony finally had to stop the car.

She watched the little raindrops splash against the window, and turned to him when he started the car back up again. "What are you doing?"

"Uh…I'm starting the car, Ziva."

"Yes, I can see that, but have you figured out what you did wrong?"

"Ha! What I did wrong? The only thing I did wrong was listen to you. We were supposed to make a left at the fork."

"That is what I said." Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. The party starts in a half an hour and we're an hour away; there's no way we'll make it on time," he looked at his watch.

His girlfriend chuckled, almost evilly. "Stop the car."

"What?"

"Stop the car," she ordered again, a little more forcefully this time. Tony obeyed her command. "Now get out."

"Ziva…"

"Get out!"

"Okay." He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and stood silently on the side of the road. _She's finally snapped hasn't she? She's finally had enough of me and is going to leave me here on the side of the road to die of starvation and a broken heart. God, I knew I shouldn't have clipped my toenails in bed last night; she hates it when I do that, _he thought to himself.

Ziva went over to the driver's side and got in, and rolled the window down. "Tony don't just stand there, get back in."

_Oh no, she's driving? _"Uh…I actually think I'd be safer staying right where I'm at."

Ziva shrugged. "Hmm, suit yourself." She started the car and took off before he even reached for the handle on the door.

"Hey!" He yelled at the car. The car suddenly stopped and started going in reverse. A few seconds later, he was met with her smirking face. He got in, slamming the door shut. "Thank you", Tony grumbled grumpily (try saying that ten times in a row).

"You didn't really think I was going to leave you back there, did you?"

"Well…why didn't you?"

A tiny smile was brought to her lips as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He figured that she would respond with some snappy comment, but instead she just shrugged and said, "Because I would have missed your company."

They pulled up to the house a short time later, in fact, they were five minutes early.

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick." Tony squatted on the ground, having a hard time standing up. He knew her driving was bad, but that was awful.

Suddenly, Ziva swung her arm around his shoulder to help him up. "Come on, up you go."

The house was gorgeous from the outside. It was painted white with green shutters, and there was a balcony in the back of the house that over looked the lake.

Ziva rang the doorbell. "Tony, will stop fidgeting? You look fine."

"Well, of course I do, I am Anthony DiN…" The door opened and Tony stopped talking.

A woman with brown eyes and blonde hair pulled back in a clip stood in front of them. She wore a fancy red halter dress that made Ziva feel underdressed in her black dress pants and purple sweater. "Oh hello, do come in. I'm Cindy, and you must be Tony and Niva." Her teeth looked like breath mints or…Chiclets.

"Uh…no, it's Ziva," Ziva corrected.

The other woman tilted her head to the side and gave Ziva a funny look. "Huh…oh well.."

"Honey, your Dad wants to know where the beers are," a man said as he walked into the room.

"This is my husband Lionel."

Lionel was a short man with glasses and thinning black hair that had a long white patch right through the middle like a skunk. "Lionel Scott. It's nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand.

"Anthony DiNozzo, and this is my girlfriend…"

"Ziva David." Ziva gave him the friendliest smile she could muster. He in turn gave an appreciative glance at her figure. Ziva could see the veins in Tony's neck bulge at Lionel obvious leer, so she slipped her hand through his effectively calming him. However, the way that Cindy's eyes looked Tony up and down did nothing to calm her. In fact, a foul stew was brewing inside Ziva that was threatening to explode if this woman so much as sneezed on him.

"Lionel dear, just tell Daddy that we have no beer and that he will just have to settle for wine. I refuse to keep beer in the house. It absolutely sickens me to even see the stuff. Anyway…mother and father are in the lounge if you wish to join them. Dinner will be served shortly. Excuse me why'll I go check on it."

"That woman makes me want to take a paperclip to myself," Ziva whispered to Tony.

He fought the urge to laugh, but replied, "Be nice, Ziva." She scowled at him.

When they walked into the lounge, they spotted Anna siting stiffly on the couch. She looked positively bored out of her mind. Cal's discomfort seemed a little less noticeable as he leant against the mantle sipping his drink. "Ziva, Tony!" Anna greeted brightly, getting up from the couch. "Thank God you're here. I don't think I could stand anymore of this; and what the hell kind of music is she listening to? It sounds like we're at a funeral home. I did not raise my daughter like this." She shook her head.

"Anna, things have changed", Cal spoke up.

"I'll say."

"It's been four years since we've seen her last."

"And whose fault was that?"

"No ones, Anna. No ones."

Ziva didn't want to interrupt the couple's conversation, but thought that it may be best, so she changed the subject. "So…where are the other guests?"

Anna and Cal both looked at her and let out a sigh. "Just you two."

Ziva looked confused at their answer, and Tony swallowed rather loudly.

Cindy strutted in to the room with her arms half raised in the air as if to say 'look at me.' "Ah, now that you're all acquainted, dinner is served."

The dining room table was covered with all kinds of half-good looking, half-gross looking, half-overdone, half-underdone, looking foods. Tony, the man who would eat just about anything worthy of the term edible seemed greener in the face than usual. (Not that he turned that color often). "Well, dig in, as you people say," Cindy chuckled.

"You people. What is that supposed to mean," Ziva spit through her teeth in Tony's ear.

Tony poked at the suckling pig with his fork. "I don't know, Ziva, but…did that pig just blink?"

Ziva was still in the middle of deciding what on the dinner table would not give her food poisoning when Cindy wandered over to her. "So…how long have you and Tony been together?"

"A month."

"A month!" Cindy spoke rather loudly causing Ziva to drop the salad tongs in her hand, which made a clatter.

She turned sharply and glared at the other woman. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no. It's just…the way you two act around each other, so comfortable with one another, you two seem like you could have been together for years."

"Years!" _Seriously, years? Does it really look like Tony and Ziva have been together for years? _"Well, why do you say that?"

The blonde laughed. "Please, I've had three husbands. I think I know what love looks like."

"Or murder," Cal murmured as he walked passed them.

"What was that?"

Cal froze in his spot. "I said, I'm gonna get your mother for dinner."

"Oh, anyway, it just surprises me that you have not been together longer. I mean the way that he looks at you, as if he has never seen a woman before, and it excites him; you excite him. Have you two had sex yet?"

"Oh, dear Lord," Anna sighed as she took her seat next to her husband at the table.

"I'm just being curious."

"You're always curious."

"For your information we have…not…yet. But I don't see how that is any of your business." Ziva hoped she wasn't blushing. She would rather sniff Tony's socks than be caught blushing.

"Where is that handsome man of yours anyway?"

"He had to hit the head," Cal said in the middle of chewing a hard dinner roll.

Cindy gasped. "He hit his head."

Ziva snorted at the woman's mistake.

"Sweetheart, Cindy, why don't you have a seat." Her husband pulled out a chair for her to sit down in.

"Well, why haven't you had sex yet?"

"_Get me the hell out of here!" _Ziva's insides were screaming. _Why won't this woman just shut up?_

"You know if you two are having problems my husband is a sex therapist." Cindy announced proudly, and the whole room went silent. (Don't you just hate when that happens?)

Tony walked into the room a few second later. By the look on everyone's faces 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil,' came to his mind. "What did I miss?"

**I'll try to update soon. Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. – I know this is old news, but did anyone see the Season 10 preview?**

**Holy crap, did that look epic! I swear the sounds that came out of my mouth were not human. I am so frickin excited!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – My Love

After dinner, everyone was ushered into what Cindy called 'the ballroom/music room'. It was a fairly small room, but there was lots of open space. A baby grand piano stood in the corner and next to it was a small couch. There was a fireplace and a set of glass doors that went out onto the terrace. The room was really quite lovely, like the rest of the house, but the wide open space was a reminder of the sheer lack of people in attendance. To be honest, Ziva wasn't entirely sure why she and Tony had even been invited tonight. She supposed that since it had been a while since the Harbo's had seen their daughter that maybe they felt more comfortable having Tony and her here.

Cindy stood in the center of the room and cleared her throat. "Mom, Dad, Happy Anniversary. Growing up, I remember watching the two of you; how comfortable and in synch the two of you were and thinking, "_Wow! Are my parents crazy for each other or what."_ I had never seen anything like it. I've missed seeing that these past few years, missed seeing the both of you. I'm sorry for not keeping in touch. There is no excuse for my behavior. You both have been amazing parents to me, and I should have come to appreciate that sooner, and even though I don't show it much, I do love you both. Thank you for being there for me even when I haven't been there for the both of you."

The heartfelt words were a slight surprise for the people in the room. Even Cindy seemed a little surprised at her own words. Anna smiled and stood from her chair to give her daughter a hug. "We love you too, Honey, and you're our daughter, we will always be there for you. Won't we Cal?"

He snapped out of his state of slight shock, (it was very rare for Cindy to apologize for anything). "That's right, dear, and since it is our anniversary, I would like to say a few words." He took a long pause as he gathered his thoughts and everyone gave him their full attention. "The first time Anna and I met, it was like a chance at fate. I had hopped on a train headed up to New York, and, I see this young lady, and she was looking out the window, so I couldn't see her face. All I saw was this beautiful mass of curls. The color is hard to describe…like a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon. I sat down beside her and started talking to her. She didn't want anything to do with me, she just kept staring out the window. Strange enough, when I stopped rambling on and on about stuff that had to have made absolutely no sense at all, she finally turned and looked at me. I know this sounds crazy but, with one look in those brown eyes, I knew my life would never be the same again."

Tony turned in his spot on the love seat and looked at Ziva, who was sitting beside him. He knew she could feel him staring, but she just smiled and gave his hand a soft squeeze.

"We parted ways when the train stopped. I never thought I would see her again, but I just couldn't get her out of my mind. I didn't even know her name, but I tried to find her for weeks, and it was no use, so I gave up. I got on a train back to Virginia," he smacked his hand down on his thigh, "and dammit if she wasn't on it; same hair, same smug grin on her face, and I realized that maybe we were meant to see each other again, cause the second time around she finally decided to have dinner with me."

"That's cause you wouldn't stop bugging me till I said yes," Anna added.

"That's true, but I knew you couldn't resist me much longer." She laughed sweetly at that. "Forty years is a long time, but whether it's been forty years or forty seconds, my love for you, Anna, has never changed; if anything, it's gotten stronger all these years. You have always been, and always will be, my world, my life, my love, my everything…my Anna."

Anna wiped the tears from her eyes and walked over to her husband, giving him a kiss and hugging him close. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

"I don't know quite what to say other than you are a wonderful husband, and a beautiful man, and I don't deserve you…but I'll take you anyway, cause I love you more than anything, and I will continue for the rest of my days, and is it just me or does this sound a lot like our wedding vows? Ok, I'm just gonna kiss you now." Everyone laughed and she kissed him once again.

The other people in the room all began clapping, the sound echoed throughout the open space.

"Ok, who wants cake?" Cindy placed a frosted sheet cake on the table.

"Did you make this?" Tony asked looking hesitantly at it.

"No, that's store bought."

"Oh, thank God." Luckily no one heard him say it, except for Ziva who snickered.

"How about you, Niva, would you like a piece?" Lionel held a plate out to her with a sliver of cake on it.

"Uh, sure." She leaned in to whisper in Tony's ear, "Why do they keep calling me that?"

"I don't know. Just don't get your panties in a twist."

"Who said I am wearing any."

He made a sound between a cough and a laugh. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you."

"The night is still young, my love."

He turned in slight shock and raised an eyebrow. She bowed her head and hid her face behind her hair, and that's when he realized that she hadn't meant to call him that, and he got a strange feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with what he had eaten.

They decided to drive back to DC later that evening. Ziva fell asleep in the passenger seat, and every once in a while he would glance over at her.

She had called him her love, and that was the closest she had ever come to telling him she loves him. For a moment, Tony felt like the happiest man in the world and the next, he felt confused. It was obviously a slip of the tongue. She didn't mean to say it, but she did, and that had to mean something, right?

She awoke when they reached her apartment, but didn't stay awake for long. She was half asleep when Tony helped her in to bed. After showering, he went into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of tea. Ziva had made him drink lots of tea while he was recovering from his wound. Now, he actually liked it; it helped him relax. He didn't think he would get much sleep tonight; there was too much on his mind.

He thought about slipping into bed next to her, but didn't want to disturb her slumber with his fully awake body tossing and turning. He laid down on the couch and curled up in a blanket that smelled so much like a mixture of both their scents, it was almost overwhelming. He didn't turn on the TV, he just laid there on his back staring up at the ceiling.

The past couple of weeks flashed through his mind. What wonderful weeks they were. That's when he remembered that they had agreed that he would be leaving tomorrow to go back to his place. That same strange feeling that was in his stomach earlier was there again, feeling strangely like emptiness, and he wanted more than anything to hold her right now. He didn't know why he was feeling this way. It's not like they would never see each other. They were, after all, dating now. So, then why was this news of leaving so difficult for him to comprehend?

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back in an effort to relax. He was actually beginning to feel a little sleepy. When he opened them again he saw a pair of eyes observing him in the darkness and a figure standing before him. "Hi," he whispered, for that was the only word that seemed to want to come out of his mouth.

"Hi."

"You fell asleep so I just…"

"I know. Thank you." She remained standing and was looking around the room, not entirely sure what to say next. Then she took a deep breath. "What I said tonight…I, I know it may not have seemed like it but…I meant it." She held her breath and waited for an answer that never came. "Tony," she whispered, and was answered with a soft snore. She sighed and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Out of all the times when he could have fallen asleep, it had to be now? Right when she finally felt something, some kind of burst of courage to tell him how she really feels for him. She quietly walked back into her room and sat down on the foot of the bed, burying her head in her hands.

Why did this have to be so hard for her? How hard is it to tell someone you love that you love them? After seeing the Harbos tonight, seeing how wonderful the two of them really are together, Ziva finally felt certain that she truly was in love with Tony DiNozzo, and what surprised her most was how comfortable she was with that knowledge; and now it was time to tell him that, well, not now since he was asleep, but sometime, perhaps when her courage comes back.

**This was a bit of a shorter chapter. I had a little difficulty with this one and had to rewrite it. I hope it's ok.**

**Please feel free to leave a review. =) **

**Oh, and I absolutely loved all the comments about the preview. They made my week!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: As always the reviews for the last chapter were wonderful. Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.**

Chapter 16 – Partings & Pizzas

Ziva had never realized how much of Tony's stuff was actually at her apartment. He had only been staying there a little over a month, and just in that short time, it seemed that evidence of his presence was everywhere; from his DVD's that were scattered throughout the living room, to his hair gel that made everything in the bathroom sticky (the nozzle on the bottle had a habit of squirting it everywhere). They were the things that annoyed her at first, but now she wondered how difficult it would be to not have them there anymore.

They had spent all afternoon packing up his things and by the time they were finished, it was already five o'clock. They collapsed on the couch and immediately Ziva curled into Tony's side, with Marni tucked into his other side, of course.

Tony sighed, "you know it's not like we won't see each other; really, I can come over whenever you want me too." Her head was resting on his chest and he spoke into her hair that smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, a fragrance that he would never forget the smell of for as long as he lived. It was as if two Glade air fresheners had attached themselves to the inside of his nostrils. He always smelled that scent, but that's ok, cause he's grown to love that smell, her smell.

"Yes, I suppose that is true," she finally responded after a while of not saying anything.

It had just dawned on him that she had locked her arm around his, as if to tell him that she didn't want him to go, and that broke his heart, and for the first time he felt like suggesting that maybe they could move in together, but were they really ready for that kind of commitment? Would she even want that?

"Well, I guess I should probably get going. My mailbox is probably as full as yours by now." His laugh lacked a certain music and hers had no intention of reaching her throat. There was no comfortable silence, just awkward silence as he picked up his bags and she followed him to the door. Marni was not having any of this, and quickly scurried off into the bedroom, his tail flicked the door causing it to slam. They both winced at the sound.

"He is not happy to see you go."

"And what about you?" He saw her tense up, and he wished she would look at him. He could always tell from one look what words couldn't say.

"I shall manage." Her voice was small, but void of emotion.

He clenched his jaw. _How could she go from clingy one minute to void of emotion the next? What is going through her mind right now? _He took a deep breath. "I love you." The words punctured the silence and he squinted his eyes, trying to gage any kind of reaction from her.

It felt like a lump the size of a grapefruit had formed in her throat and there was no way to swallow it without choking. _Not now, not now. I can't, I can't. _She panicked. "I know."

Suddenly, it was as if the past few weeks had meant nothing. Tony barked a harsh, slightly painful sounding laugh. "Yeah, that's what I thought." That was the last thing he said before walking out and shutting the door.

As soon as she heard the door shut, she lifted her head and looked around. She was alone. That feeling never used to bother her much, but now she didn't like it. She felt like screaming or, even worse, crying. Why the hell did she not tell him right then and there? Tell him how much she has grown to love him; tell him how much she'll miss not having him around all the time.

She stood up and wondered, _what just happened? _One minute he's there, the next he's gone. Moisture was starting to fill her brown orbs. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and shook her head harshly. Her breathing grew heavy and she felt dizzy, and walked in to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed right next to Marni who had curled himself up on Tony's old pillow.

Tony trudged up the stairs and in to his apartment, slamming the door. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I cannot believe that woman," he said out loud to himself. "How can she be so…" he groaned. "One minute she's happy, the next she's angry, or sad, or distant, or…oh I don't know, she just doesn't make sense!" Tony threw his bags on the floor and headed for the bathroom. Maybe a shower would help ease his tense muscles.

She had been lying on the bed for what felt like an hour, but was actually three hours later. Her stomach made a noise that sounded like it just said "hello" to her. _Maybe I should find something to eat._

The only food in the kitchen was a couple of jars of tomato soup that Anna had given her. Unscrewing the cap, she didn't bother heating it up. Right now she could care less if her dinner tasted like room temperature, watered down baby food. Dipping her spoon in the jar she swallowed, and her face soured. Marni looked up at her expectedly. "What? Believe me Marni, you do not want this. Go eat your cat food." Marni bowed his head and layed down on the tile floor, hiding his face with his paws. "What Marni? What's the matter?" She sat on her knees in front of him and scratched his back. "Do you miss Tony?" The cat gave a little purr. "I'll tell you a secret Marni…I do too."

"Do I really need to tell you, Steve?"

The man on the other end of the phone laughed. "A large pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese, right?"

"You got it."

"Alright Tony. I'll make sure it's there in fifteen minutes or less. I'll even throw in a free order of breadsticks. It's the least I could do for my best customer."

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Steve. I'm still not hooking you up with Abby."

"Have you talked to her for me yet?"

"Why don't you talk to her yourself? She comes in to the restaurant all the time." There was silence on the other end. "You're afraid of her aren't you?"

"No…she's just.."

"Believe me she's not your type, Steve. Besides, she's kinda got a thing for my partner."

"Oh…" He sounded genuinely disappointed, Tony felt kinda bad for him.

"Just hang in there, man. I'm sure you'll find somebody."

"Yeah. So I hear you been looking for the right girl. How's that been working out?"

"Look, I gotta go Steve. Talk to you later." Tony quickly hung up the phone. He really didn't want to think about Ziva right now. Since him and Ziva have gotten together, that's all he ever did was think about her, or talk about her, or talk to her, even at work. It's a wonder that nobody has told him to "shut the hell up" yet, not even Gibbs has commented on it. Yet still, even after how things had been left early today, as he plopped down on the couch in his pajamas and turned on the TV, he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing right now.

Upon hearing a knock at the door Ziva got up off the floor. Her back cracked from laying there next to Marni for so long. She opened the door and stared at the man in front of her. "One pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese pizza." By the look on the delivery guy's face it was clear that this was the last thing he wanted to be doing at ten o'clock at night.

"How much do I owe you?"

"$15."

She hurried into the kitchen to grab her wallet. (She hardly ever carried a purse and usually just kept her wallet in the duffle bag she carries to work every day.) She checked all through the bag and couldn't find it. The young man at the door began impatiently checking his watch. "Just, hold on one minute", she called though the words were muffled since her head was currently inside the bag she was searching through.

"Would you mind hurrying up lady? I got one more delivery before the end of my shift."

"I'm coming. Just hold your mule!" Ziva told him as she ran back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, and then to the living room again. She practically tore the place apart looking for that wallet. The twenty something year old delivery guy gave her a confused look and scratched his curly red hair. "Where is that damn thing," she mumbled.

"I don't know, ma'am, but…"

"What did you just call me?" In a flash she was in front of him.

He pulled nervously at his collar. "Uh…Ma'am."

"Don't. Call. Me. Ma'am!" She hissed.

"Ok…uh…Miss?"

"That's better. Now what were you saying?"

"I…I was just…uh…wondering if you could hurry up, cause I've got another delivery, and my boss says not to keep Mr. DiNozzo waiting."

"Did you say DiNozzo?"

"It's definitely been more than fifteen minutes, Lou….you're not Louie."

"Who's Louie?"

"The guy who usually brings me my pizza." She walked into the living room and placed the pizzas on the coffee table. He shut the door and walked over to her. "Ziva."

"Yes Tony?"

"Why are you bringing me pizza?"

"Because you ordered it."

"And why is there an extra one?"

She smirked, finding his confused expression rather amusing. "Because I ordered it."

"O…kaayyy." He was still a bit confused, and wanted to ask her how she got a hold of his pizza in the first place, but thought better of it.

They just stood looking at each other for a few moments; taking in the others appearance as though they hadn't seen each other in months, not just a few hours ago. He was still in his pajamas, that consisted of shorts and a worn out t-shirt. It was a comfy and laid back look that Ziva always secretly, and not so secretly, admired on him. Her hair was messy and her eyes were baggy, and he wondered if she had been crying.

He scratched the back of his head. "So…uh…"

She flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck holding him tightly. It was a bit of a surprise to Tony, seeing as how they had left things a few hours ago, but Tony just continued to hold her until she suddenly unhooked her arms and stepped back.

"I lied earlier." He raised an eyebrow, so she explained. "About being able to manage." She took a deep breath. "I miss you already and it's only been five hours. How stupid does that sound?!" She shook her head almost disgusted with that knowledge.

He smiled softly and pulled her closer to him, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. When she looked up at him, there was so much feeling in her face, so much…love? _Could it be?_ He wondered. His hands cupped the sides of her face and their lips easily came together in a soft kiss. There was something different about this kiss, something that neither could describe. Her hands started roaming all over his body, and his planted themselves in her hair. She moaned into his mouth and it was quite clear what she wanted. They started walking, or more like stumbling backwards to the bedroom. As their tongues tangled he managed to mumble, "Mmm…Ziva…what about the pizza?"

She removed her mouth from his and looked up at him in slight outrage. "Are you seriously thinking about food right now?"

Tony swallowed. "No."

"Good."

When they entered the bedroom she pushed him down on the bed and straddled his waist. Her fingers crept to the bottom of his t-shirt and stripped him of the thin material. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the mattress while licking her way up and down his chest. In her moment of distraction, he was able to unpin himself and flip them over so that he was on top.

"Hey! I like being on top."

He smiled triumphantly. "Yeah. So do I." He pulled her shirt over her head and his eyes were graced with the glorious view of her bra, and he felt that oh so familiar feeling in his pants get just a little bit tighter and _harder_ to control.

Noticing the saucer size of his eyes she smirked smugly and flipped them once more. "Well, you're just going to have to get used to being on the bottom."

With a flick of his wrist the bra came undone, and the smile returned to his face. "I think I can live with that."

The next few hours were spent in pure exploration. They had discovered things about one another that they never knew before, like who was the most ticklish (Tony), and who had the most sweet spots, the spots where it would take just one little touch and that person would turn into a moaning pile of marshmallow fluff at your fingertips (Ziva). Even when it was over and both of them had calmed down, it still seemed to feel like it was only just beginning. It would take a long time for the feeling to pass.

"What the hell was that?!" Tony panted.

"That was…wow!" Ziva, at the moment, wasn't much better than Tony. She turned over in the bed to look at him, and she suddenly started laughing.

"What?" He had to smile at her laugh, even though he had no idea what she was laughing about.

"Your…your hair." His hair was sticking straight up in the air so she tried to smooth it down for him, though it

wasn't really working.

"Oh, and you think yours looks any better?" He laughed with her, and once they calmed down, she reached over and softly kissed his cheek before drifting off to sleep, and at that moment he believed he had never felt more loved in his life.

**The next chapter will begin with the morning after, and maybe Ziva will finally tell him. ;)**

**Thanks for reading and please review. **


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – The Morning After 

She's never told him this, but she thinks he looks adorable when he's asleep. His face is calm and relaxed, and bestows such an innocent grace that one might not except from this man. The slivers of sunlight that creep out from behind the curtains reveal some small, barley there, wrinkles on around his face. She has no doubt that they were put there by a troubling and painful past, one with many downfalls and disappointments. _But he's still such a beautiful man, _she thinks to herself and then screws her face up for thinking that. When had she become so soft and mushy? Perhaps last night had more of an effect on her than she imagined.

Last night had been so amazing, not just in the physical sense (though that was pretty mind blowing), but in the mental and emotional sense also. She woke up feeling different, like something changed. Maybe it was her who had changed. She didn't know. She just felt lighter, like some kind of invisible weight had been taken off her shoulders.

She notices that he is beginning to wake up, but makes no move to redirect her gaze. She is not shy, and does not care if he's aware of her staring at him. His eyes flutter open and he smiles at her. "Good morning, gorgeous", he said.

"I love you."

The words out of her mouth were so unexpected that it took him a minute to process what she had said. "Say that again, I - I didn't quite catch that," he replied jokingly leaning into her.

She laughed, "I love you!"

He grinned broadly and grabbed the back of her head pulling her into a kiss. "I love you too." He rolled on top of her, unwadding the covers and pulling them up to cover their bodies. She gazed up at him fondly as he gazed down at her with the same expression. Her fingers played with the hairs on the back of his head, and he sighed contently. "What do you want for breakfast?" She pursed her lips in thought and then leaned up to whisper something in his ear. His smile turned cheeky and he scooted further down the bed. "Ah, that's an excellent choice, Zee-vaah. I was thinking the same thing myself." He grabbed her hips and placed a kiss on her stomach. She gasped and followed him all the way under the covers until there connected bodies looked like one giant worm under a sheet that has a tendency to moan and groan, and may even giggle on occasion if touched in the right places.

"Ok, now for some real breakfast," Ziva announced as she walked briskly over to the refrigerator.

"Was that not satisfying enough?" He wiggled his eyebrows teasingly as he followed her into the kitchen, fixing his tie as he walked.

"Oh no, that was perfectly satisfying, but now my stomach wants some actual food."

He snorted. "Good luck finding that. I've been living with you for the last month, so the only thing you'll find in that fridge is expired or…beer…not that I drink a lot, cause I don't but…" He trailed off.

She opened the fridge and noticed, with some surprise, that it was well stocked. _This is Tony DiNozzo's fridge, of course it's well stocked. The man eats like a gorilla at the zoo during feeding time. It should be well stocked._ Nothing looked particularly appetizing, and there was a container all the way in the back that Ziva knew she shouldn't open, but was tempted to open it anyway for shits and giggles.

"Find anything?"

His voice was so close to her ear it almost made her jump…almost. "You might want to back away." Her hand reached in and pulled out the container.

"And why's that?" He kissed her behind the ear, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"Trust me, whatever is in this container…you do not want to be around when I open it."

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad." He grabbed the container out of her hand and peeled the lid off. He hadn't even gotten a good whiff of it's before the smell forced him to recoil and take a step back. "Ok, maybe it is that bad."

Ziva who had relocated to the living room as soon as she heard the first snap of the lid being opened asked, "Coffee place down the street?"

He nodded. "Coffee place down the street."

Realizing that they still had about a half an hour before either of them had to be at work they grabbed their coffees and walked across the street to the park area, and took a seat on one of the benches. There were many people out and about this morning; the same as pretty much every morning, but it really was beautiful out today.

"You know, I never really realized just how beautiful DC is."

"Well, it has its moments", Tony stated lifting the lid off his cup and smelling the hot caffeinated liquid inside.

"Especially around this time of year, when all the different colored leaves are beginning to fall and scatter all over the ground. It's colder, and everything seems, I don't know…crisper." She picked up a brown leaf with hints of orange and examined it in her palm.

Tony lowered the cup from his mouth and looked at her, his brows furrowed. "Are you feeling okay?"

She cocked her head sideways. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem a little…fluffy that's all."

"Fluffy?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah. You know like, when you're in a really girly, happy, dancing naked in a field of wildflowers, kinda mood."

"Dancing naked…what?"

"Forget it," he waved it off.

"No, it's just I'm not used to this, that's all."

"Not used to what?"

"This," she gestured around with her hands. "Everything. I've been living here for a year, but sometimes it still seems new to me."

He nodded in understanding. "But you like it right? I mean, you wouldn't want to leave and go back or anything, right?"

She observed him with a curious expression. "Well, no, I've actually never thought about that. When I first came to America, to Washington, there were times I…thought, about Israel. Sometimes I wished I could spend another day there, but honestly I have never wanted to go back, not permanently that is."

"Well, I'm glad. That's good to know."

Something about that was troubling her, so she asked, "Tony, are you afraid that I'll leave?"

He lost interest in his coffee and began picking at the plastic sticker that had his name on it. "No. What would give you that idea?" he shrugged.

"Tony, I am not going to leave. I am with you now, and I have never been more certain that this is my home. I could never leave."

He smiled at her. "Good, cause you know, I wouldn't let you get away that easily."

She chuckled, "I have no doubt about that."

They sat silently watching life swirl around them, then, after a while, a look appeared on Ziva's face that indicated that she wanted to say something else, but she couldn't quite figure out how.

"Tony."

"Yeah?"

"I think we should move in together. Last night…well, it's clear that we are incapable of being apart from each other." She frowned a little at her own words, then began mumbling to herself, "That does not sound right. _'We are incapable of being apart from each other'._ It doesn't sound right."

"It's the truth though." He admitted snapping her out of her mumbling. Clear realization was present in his eyes.

"I…suppose it is." She frowned slightly. That realization was both unsettling and comforting to her. Never had she ever felt so dependent on a man's company before.

"Well, about moving in together. I think it's a good idea", Tony said.

"You do?"

"Yeah. We're in a relationship, we love each other, and for the past month we've kind of been living together anyway."

"Why didn't we think of this yesterday?" Ziva wondered out loud.

He sighed and lifted his coffee to his lips. "I don't know. Looks like now we just have to decide whose apartment we're…"

"Oh, we're definitely living in _my _apartment."

"What's wrong with my place?" She gave him a look that clearly said, "_Are you kidding me?"_ "Never mind, don't answer that."

She stood up and grabbed his hand pulling him with her. "Come on. We must get moving, Gibbs will not be happy if you are late for work."

"No. I don't wanna go," he whined.

She wrapped her arm around his waist and his hand landed on her lower back, and they started walking.

She shook her head, sighing. "Oh Tony…you're going to drive me crazy aren't you."

"Aw, Zee-vaah. But that's why you love me."

She laughed and nodded. "That's why I love you."

**I know it's kinda short, and I apologize for that. Things have kind of been busy for me lately. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon. **

**So, what did you guys think of the premiere? (If you've seen it yet.)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Ok, Wow! I honestly cannot believe this story has reached over 100 reviews. All of you readers are amazing, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, reviewing, favoring, and following this story. **

**Keep up the great work!**

**Oh, and for this chapter italics mean flashbacks or thoughts.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything…sadly.**

Chapter 18 – Comfort

It took them about a week to move Tony's stuff into Ziva's apartment. The man had a lot of stuff, so some things (to Tony's displeasure) he had to get rid of; like some of the many pairs of designer shoes he owned, and some clothes at the bottom of his dresser that looked like they had been bought in 1987 and, most likely, hadn't been worn since. He even got rid of some of his GSM magazines, though he insisted on giving each one an appreciative look through, to give them what he called, to Ziva's amusement, "a proper burial."

The final day of moving had to be the hardest. For Tony, some things hold too many memories to ever let go of.

'_He has been in there for a while now.' Ziva thought to herself as she stared at the cracked bedroom door. Everything had already been hauled out of the apartment in boxes and containers ready to make the short journey to Ziva's apartment. The closet in the bedroom was the last spot that needed to be cleared out. Tony had stated that he was "going to go do that" an hour ago, and for the past fifteen minutes not a peep was heard from inside that room._

_She opened the door and found him sitting on the floor, his back propped up against the side of the bed. There was an old cardboard box sitting between his spread out legs. When he spoke his voice startled her, but she wasn't surprised that he knew she was there. No matter how quiet she had been. "This box…I kept it in the back of my closet hoping I would forget about it, hoping I wouldn't have to see it again. Lo and behold, I did forget about it."_

_She took a seat on the floor next to him and peered inside the box at its contents. Toys? The box was filled with toys. Old toys that looked like they had once been well loved by a little boy._

_He frowned down at them and she frowned up at him. "These were yours?" It was more of a statement, but she wanted an answer anyway._

"_Yep."_

"_Why did you want to forget about them?"_

_He picked up a stuffed duck wearing a little blue bowtie, and held it out in front of her. "This is Mr. Quackers, he was a present from my mom on my fourth birthday. I carried him everywhere. Most of these things she bought me", he motioned to the box, "and when she died I didn't want them anymore…but I just couldn't get rid of them…"_

_She stared at the stuffed animal in front of her, and then at the grown man next to her who sometimes still acted like a misguided child. She grabbed his hand and looked into his lost eyes, and, at that moment, she felt closer to him than she ever had before._

Ziva was ultimately able to convince Tony to take the box with him, and now that little stuffed duck sits in a chair next to their bedside. At first Tony thought it was silly, and didn't want his childhood friend sitting out in their bedroom where anyone who entered would see it, but Ziva insisted that it be kept there rather than in some old box. He knew there were other reasons for her wanting it to be put there, like the fact that she knew it had brought him comfort as a child, and perhaps she thought it may help comfort him now. What she didn't realize was that all the comfort he could ever truly need couldn't be found in a stuffed duck, but in her. She was all he needed.

Ziva knew she was running late. They had gotten a little carried away in the bedroom this morning, which, in turn, made Tony late for work also.

She hustled quickly into the theater dressing rooms and changed into her signature black leotard that she wore every day (unless it was a dress rehearsal of course.) She was in the middle of putting her hair in a bun when someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

A young lady of about seventeen with red hair and brown eyes poked her head through the door. "Ziva. Charlie wants all the dancers on stage. He's got some kind of _'amazingly brilliant news'_ to share," she air quoted, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, well, that's Charlie for you." Ziva grabbed two pairs of shoes, a pair of flats, and a pair of tap dance shoes out of her bag. "Ok, I am ready."

She walked over to her spot on the stage where a group of about thirty men and woman were already waiting; some actors, some musicians, and some dancers. Charlie stood on a pedestal (the man was really quite short) and clapped his hands together as though all was right in the world. "Listen up my darling divas, it is time. It is time for our winter productions. Now, as you all are aware, this is the most important time of the year for the theater. It is the busiest, it is the bitchiest, and it is the overall best. So that means that we must perform to our greatest level, and do not, I repeat DO NOT screw anything up. Does everyone understand that?"

"Yes Charlie", everyone answered.

"Good. Now you may fly away." He flapped his hands like wings and everyone scurried off. "Not you, Ziva," he called, and she walked back over to him.

"Yes Charlie?"

He smoothed down his already perfect comb over. "You, my dear, have good potential and I like that. How would you like to be the lead ballerina in our winter productions?"

She smiled politely at him, and faked enthusiasm when inside all she really felt was dread.

"You didn't happen to see my suit in there, did you?"

"Yeah, it was taking up too much room, so we sold it."

"Did you get anything for it?"

"Uh…dollar forty."

"That's my suit all right."

Tony laughed at the film playing on the television, but stopped when he heard the door shut. He turned from his spot on the couch and watched Ziva take off her coat, grab a beer from the fridge, and take a seat next to him, removing her shoes and propping her feet up on the coffee table. He gave her a look then proceeded to turn back to the movie.

"What are we watching?"

"_A Night at the Opera_, 1935, Marx Brothers." He heard her sigh, and watched her take a big gulp of her beer, which was strange cause she rarely ever drank beer. They sat and watched silently for a few minutes, an occasional laugh here and there, until he spoke up. "How was work?"

"Fine. Yours?"

He expected that answer from her. "Well, I didn't get shot at." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and he bit the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, wrong thing to joke about."

"Yes, it is."

He pulled his feet off the coffee table and muted the volume on the TV before turning his body to face her. "You okay?"

She huffed in obvious annoyance. "I am fine."

"Ok, '_I am fine,'_ wanna tell me what's really bothering you."

She refrained from looking at him and opted from staring at the television instead. "As I am sure you are aware, Christmas is next month, and my boss Charlie is going absolutely insane over this Christmas production we're supposed to be performing. It's an original production, something he came up with himself," she added.

He wasn't sure where she was going with this so he just replied "Oh."

"Yes. Needless to say I am not looking forward to it."

"Why's that?"

"Well, first off I don't know much about Christmas, and secondly I have to be a ballerina."

He scratched his head. "What's wrong with being a ballerina? I thought you were already kinda like one of those anyway."

She shook her head. "I am a dancer, not a ballerina. However, I used to take ballet when I was child." He raised an eyebrow silently asking her to continue, though he doubted she saw it since her eyes were still glued to the TV. "I loved it. I really did. The movements, the art and beauty of it all. My father…never understood that. To him it was a waste, but to me it was…the only thing I had. Every time I had a recital my mother would always promise me that my father would be there. My brother would promise me and my little sister would promise me he would be there; everyone did, except my father. He would never promise me anything, but I would still look for him. Now, I do not even know why I bothered."

"Hope." He spoke up softly, and she turned her eyes from the TV to look into his.

"Maybe." She sniffed and for the first time he noticed her moist eyes. "Now you understand why I am not looking forward to this."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I won't be like your father, Ziva."

"I know."

He stood abruptly and she watched him walk to the bedroom. Thinking he was walking away from her, she put her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Moments later, she felt a hand smoothing her hair back and she looked up through blurry eyes, and saw him sitting beside her holding the stuffed duck in his lap.

"Do you wanna hold Mr. Quackers?" he asked in a tiny, but serious voice, and she would have chuckled if she thought she could without it sounding like a sob.

She shook her head and whispered, "No, I wanna hold you." He pulled her body into his and layed back on the couch with her on top of him.

Groucho, Chico, and Harpo stayed silent on the television screen. Marni snuggled comfortably further into his bed of clothes on the floor, and the forgotten duck lay beside the coffee table. His shoulder was damp, and her sniffles were faint as the night enveloped them in its safe embrace.

**Please review! Your comments are much appreciated. **

**Until the next chapter….which hopefully won't take me too long to write. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned something…but I don't :(**

Chapter 19 – Decisions, decisions

Tony continued to nibble on the corner of his mouth as he flipped through the pages of the magazine. He made a "hmm" sound, shaking his head for the tenth time in one hour.

McGee removed his hand from his mouse and spun in his chair to look over at his obviously troubled partner. "What's the matter, Tony?"

"Romantic stuff, McVirgin. You wouldn't understand."

"You can't decide what to get Ziva for Christmas can you?"

Tony's feet slipped from their spot on top of his desk and he sat up straight. "What gave you that idea?" McGee pointed to the Macy's Christmas catalog in Tony's hands. "Oh. Well, yes I suppose there is some truth to that." McGee barked a laugh, and Tony slammed the magazine down on his desk causing all those annoying little perfume ads to slip out and scatter on the floor. "Alright fine. I can't make any decisions cause there's no decisions to make, cause I haven't found a single thing that's good enough yet!" He got out of his chair and painfully kneeled on the floor; his knees killing him, and began collecting the ads. Frustration molded his features, making Tim feel somewhat sympathetic. Tim too kneeled on the floor and helped him pick them up. "It's just, this is her first Christmas you know, and I just want everything to be special for her," Tony mumbled.

Tim put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It will be, Tony."

Tony gave him a small smile. "Thanks Tim." They stood back up. "What do you get for a woman who wants nothing, but deserves everything?"

McGee was a little taken by the statement. "Well, I…you're really serious."

"Of course I'm serious. I love her more than anything."

Once again, McGee had that halfway to astonished look on his face before it softened. "Well, that's, that's really wonderful Tony." He smiled, and turned to walk back to his desk when Tony spoke up again.

"Hey McGee."

McGee turned back around to see Tony grinning. "Yeah?"

"Would you mind helping me out with something?"

Ziva took a seat in the third row with an exhausted sigh. She had just finished practicing her routine for the God knows how many-ith time today. Taking a sip of her bottled water she felt something vibrate under her butt. She flinched slightly startled, and some water dripped down her chin, she didn't bother wiping it off. Looking around at the two other women who had taken seats in the first row, and the group of male dancers in their tights, stretching, and showing off 'things' that were way too early for Ziva to see at this time of day (not that she was looking…much), she wondered if she should stop the vibrations and pick up the phone.

She reached in her bag that she had apparently sat on, and looked for the object of desire - (Oh, Tony's here?) She crouched down in her seat, not caring about the two snooty faces in the first row who felt the need to turn around and look at her. She flipped open the phone and whispered, "Hello?"

"Ziva, why are you whispering?" The voice on the other end whispered back.

"Because Abby I'm at work."

"Oh."

"Why are you whispering?" Ziva asked.

"No reason, I just thought it'd be fun," Abby whispered again and there was a pause on Ziva's end.

"Abby."

"Yeah, Ziva?"

"You can stop now."

"Aw… but I was kinda liking it, you know, like we were spies on a mission or something, or we were sharing deep dark secrets that nobody else knows about, or…"

"Abby!" Ziva looked up slowly from her crouched position. Snooty face #1 shook her head, and the other put her finger to her lips and made a "shh" sound. Ziva opened her mouth as soon as the band started playing and she was kinda relieved that they didn't hear her tell the woman to "go 'shh' yourself." Ziva got up and walked out into the hall to get away from the noise.

"Anyway Ziva, I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me."

"Of course Abby, that would be lovely."

"Great! Ok, um, do you want to meet at that Italian place, the one with the tower of salami and that cute homeless guy Wayne that always sits out front, you know the one that I asked out that one time, but then we decided to just be friends."

"Uh…yeah. Sure, I can meet you there in say…half an hour."

"Perfect. Bye Zee-vee."

"Bye Abby." Ziva chuckled at her friends enthusiastic ways, and put her phone back in her bag, and walked to the dressing rooms to change into something that wouldn't give her a wedgie every time she sat down.

"I can't believe you talked me into going Christmas shopping with you," McGee said walking beside Tony.

"Cheer up, McScrooge." Tony looked around the mall soaking up all the scenery and people. "It's like a winter wonderland in here. There's so much to do, so much to see. I don't know where to begin." He was like a little kid, with his bright eyes and wide smile.

The mall was packed. 'Balls to the wall', as Tony had said earlier referring to the amount of cars in the parking lot. They ended up having to park across the street, and though it wasn't all that noticeable, both Tony and McGee were out of breath and even sweating a little by the time they reached the entrance.

"Well, we could narrow this down several ways. By the type of item you're looking for, to your price range, brand or label, style…"

Tony stopped him. "Alright, alright, I get it. Well, price doesn't matter, neither does label, style…eh…let's just look at everything."

He started walking and quickly McGee began losing him in the crowd. "Tony! Wait!" McGee tried moving his way through the crowd, though he didn't have to move much. For the running of the bulls had just begun, and he was pretty much crowd surfing his way to the Yankee Candle store that he had seen Tony enter.

Ziva arrived at the restaurant a little early, so she decided to go in and get her and Abby a table. She was directed to a booth in the far corner of the restaurant where it had a nice view of the bakery across the street. About five minutes later she saw Abby in her black and red checkered mini skirt with matching suspenders, white skull shirt, and chunky black studded dog collar, come up to Wayne aka 'the cute homeless guy'. She gave him a hug and handed him what looked like a basket full of homemade muffins. A little secret about Abby was that she loved to bake, especially muffins.

Ziva heard the clunking of platforms and looked up from her menu. "Zee-vaah!" Abby embraced her in a hug, which of course she returned. "It's been a while since we've had a chance to catch up." Abby took off her black cape and sat across from her.

"I know. Things have been so busy lately."

"For me too. I've been volunteering at the soup kitchen when I get off work, and helping out at the animal shelter on weekends. Oh, and the church has been having a lot of events lately so the nuns have to keep rescheduling our bowling nights."

They continued to talk about nothing in particular for a while as they looked through their menus; though both of them always got the same things every time they ate there, so they didn't really need to look. Ziva would get the ravioli; Abby the fettuccine.

After placing their orders Abby asked, "So, how are things with you and Tony?"

"Tony and I are doing well. I was finally able to tell him."

Abby got an excited look in her eyes. "Oh my God! You told him you're pregnant!"

Ziva stared wide eyed at her. "What?! Abby, no. I am not pregnant."

"Oh." Abby visibly deflated.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…I wanna be an aunt," she pouted.

"Well, you might be…someday, but we have not discussed children yet. We haven't even discussed marriage yet. We've only been dating a few months." Ziva was still having trouble understanding how Abby got such an idea in her head. Truthfully, Ziva had never thought of possibly having a child, let alone children, with Tony before, not because she wouldn't want to have a child with him; it was just something neither of them had ever talked about.

A few minutes later their food came, and Ziva smiled amusingly when she noticed that Abby hadn't ordered anything to drink. _'Why does she always do this whenever we're in a restaurant?' _Ziva wondered. Abby began fiddling with something in her purse, and then proceeded to take out a mini Caf-Pow! cup and set it on the table after taking a sip of it. "You are obsessed," Ziva commented.

"I know. It's getting worse. I actually go through withdraw now. It's not a pretty sight." Abby glared at the cup and scooted it further away, trying not to tempt herself. She took a bite out of a bread stick. "Have you thought about what you're going to get Tony for Christmas?"

Ziva swallowed a mouthful of ravioli. "I've been thinking about it."

"And…"

"And…I haven't decided yet." She had spent the whole week thinking about it, and she still had no clue what to get the man who surprisingly hadn't asked for anything. _'But he deserves so much for being such a wonderful man.'_ She thought to herself.

"That's ok. You still have some time," Abby reassured.

Ziva nodded. "I suppose you're right."

McGee had just sat down at a table in the food court when he heard Tony calling his name.

"McGee! Where have you been?"

McGee stood and walked over to his partner who had several shopping bags in his hands. "Where have you been?" McGee questioned. "I lost you in Hallmark."

Tony gaped at him. "Hallmark. McGee, keep up, that was like four stores ago."

McGee looked down at the bags in Tony's hands and lifted his eyebrows. "Are you almost done?"

He gave a nod. "Yep. I can't wait to see her face when she opens them. Hope she likes everything."

Tim noticed his unsure expression and said, "I don't see why she wouldn't."

Tony put one of the bags under his arm and put his free hand on McGee's shoulder. "Thanks for coming with me, Tim. You're a good friend."

He smiled proudly. "You're a good friend too, Tony. I'm glad I could help." They started walking, trying to make their way out of the crowded mall. "You know, Tony. I think Ziva's changed you."

Tony looked at him was a raised eyebrow. "Oh really."

"Yeah. I don't know, it just seems like you've grown up a bit, matured. It's nice; having this kind of Tony around."

Suddenly, Tony stopped walking and looked at the store a little ways in front of them. "Ooh, lingerie, maybe I'll get Ziva some of that too." He took off in the direction of the flashy pink lights of the store.

McGee shook his head. "Yeah, I spoke too soon."

**You're probably all wondering what exactly Tony got for Ziva (besides possibly lingerie of course). Well, I honestly have no clue yet either. So…I'll have to think about that. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to share them :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own…much…of anything.**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, I've been really busy lately. **

Chapter 20 – Christmas Eve 

"Well, it looks like it's going to be a white Christmas, Washington, DC. Make sure to be prepared, because for the next few days it will be snow, snow, and more snow," the newscaster on the TV announced, and Ziva got up off the couch and walked over to the window. It was still early in the morning, but the harsh chill in the air had woken her earlier than she would have liked (even for the early riser she usually was). The heater in the apartment was having trouble starting up, so it felt like they were living in an icebox. Tony was able to somehow stand the cold, and was still nestled in the tangled sheets of their bed.

Everything outside was white, almost painfully. The cars were covered, the roads were covered, and every street lamp looked like it had grown white hair. It was beautiful, but at the same time, a tad overwhelming. Ziva was not used to snow. It had barely snowed last year and, when it did, she had made no move to go outside and frolic in it, or even touch it for that matter. She just sat inside and watched curiously as it fell from the sky.

She heard a groan from inside the bedroom and figured he was in the process of waking. Several seconds later, he stumbled into the living room, almost stubbing his toes, but managing to dodge the little wooden reindeer Abby had brought over when she helped decorate the apartment a few days ago. "Good morning, my love." He grunted in response and blinked his blurred eyes. "Tony, come here."

He walked up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. He looked out the window. "Wow."

"I know."

"It did all of this while we were asleep?"

"Yes. The news is even calling for more." She continued to gaze out the window, but became mildly distracted by the sudden sensation of his breath in her ear.

"Let's go play in it," he whispered.

She whirled around to look at him. "Tony, it is 5:30 in the morning, and we are…adults, don't you think we're a bit old to be 'playing' in the snow."

"No," he said it as though the answer was obvious, and then rushed back into the bedroom, this time stubbing his toe, but he quickly managed to shake it off.

She followed after him. "Tony." She leaned against the doorway watching him pull off his nightshirt and put on a sweater, then another sweater over top of that. It appeared that he was in some kind of mad rush to get outside, for which she didn't understand. She fought against letting out a snort at the look of him standing in front of the mirror dressed only in two sweaters, a long red scarf twirled tightly around his neck like a brace, and his boxers.

A few seconds later he was fully dressed and grinning. "Ok, I'm ready."

"You are insane." Ziva had to smile.

"You're probably right, but I don't care because it's Christmas Eve; your first Christmas Eve, might I add, and I want to make the most of it."

She squints and lifts her chin in that determined way she always does, and he prepares himself for the disappointment of her saying no to joining him outside, but he steadies his own determination and keeps the smile on his face.

"Give me five minutes," she says, and then grabs a pair of fluffy socks from the dresser and her coat from the closet.

Upon stepping on the white-covered sidewalk, she could feel it was slick with ice underneath. A little apprehensive to take another step, she grabbed Tony's warm, glove-covered hand to steady herself.

"You okay?" He gave her hand a squeeze.

She nodded. "Yes."

They walked together, their boots sinking in the wet snow. Tony bent down and grabbed a hand full of snow and then put it to his mouth taking a bite of it. Ziva's eyes darted from his to the rest of the snow in his palm. "Did you just eat that?"

"Well yeah, it's just frozen water Ziva. Try some." He offered her his palm and her tongue eased slowly, hesitantly, out of her mouth.

It was cold and didn't taste very good, but there was a certain sensation she felt. Like taking a bite out of a cloud and eating it. Like tasteless cotton candy that dissolves immediately as it hits your tongue. She was so fascinated by this sensation she didn't see the snowball flying right at her. Suddenly, she felt it hit her in the face. Her face tingled and she looked down at Tony who was kneeling in the snow, laughing his ass off. She bent down and picked up a handful of snow and shoved it in his face. His reaction was priceless, and that's when she decided that maybe you're never too old to 'play' in the snow.

An hour later, they sat in front of the TV set; their empty mugs that used to be filled with hot chocolate were resting on the coffee table. Tony was in the massage chair (that used to be in his apartment), and Ziva…well, she was on the floor, lying on her stomach, leaning on her elbows with her hands folded under her chin, directly in front of the screen.

He's surprised that he's actually not surprised that '_How the Grinch Stole Christmas'_ (the original version) seems to have captured her attention greater than any movie he's ever shown her before. He's seen the movie a million times, so naturally he's spent this time around watching her instead. He gets silently thrilled every time he catches that smile of hers. The one that's obviously there, though he can only see it slightly, she has yet to turn around and look at him.

When the credits roll, she finally looks at him over her shoulder, and smirks wildly. She's caught him. He had been a good boy and hadn't stared at her backside one time during the entire movie (even though really in the position she's laying in, he had the perfect opportunity to), but now, the one time he does, she's caught him doing it. He flushes for some unexplained reason (it's not like he hasn't seen her in more…enticing positions before). She crawls over to him. Her eyes are shiny like black marbles, and he knows that look so well by now. It gives him such a satisfying amount of pleasure to think that she's become that predictable to him. He knows she's about to straddle his lap, that's why it makes him curse when he hears his cellphone ring.

She knows who it is. Lately, Gibbs has been becoming…how did Tony put it? Oh yes, a bit of a 'cockblocker'. When Tony hangs up the phone he sighs in that manner that makes her mind automatically go _"uh oh"._

"Damn it. So much for making the most of Christmas Eve", he mutters scrubbing his tired face with his hands. "Double homicide, which means…"

"Which means you will most likely be out all night," she finishes.

"Which means…"

"You'll miss my recital," she added. She was expecting this, so she's not really all that disappointed; just a bit saddened.

He sat up in the chair and pulled her closer to him, resting a hand on her cheek. "No, I'm going to be there, for you."

She shook her head. "No, Tony. It's alright. I understand." She did understand. _It is his job. The job should come first. _It is what she had been taught her whole life. _The job should come first._

"Ziva, remember what I told you. I'm not going to be like your father. I promise you I am going to be there. I mean you, a ballerina, dressed in a skin tight leotard and fluffy little tutu, I wouldn't miss seeing that for anything." He grinned.

She didn't even bother rolling her eyes. She just looked straight at him, wanting him to understand that she really meant it. "But, if you have to, that's ok. Believe me Tony, I will understand." She leaned into his chest a little and whispered, "besides, you do know that I take the outfits home with me, don't you? So, if you ever wanted me to…try any of them on for you…" The rest was a little hard to understand with his tongue in her mouth.

A few hours later, while she was on her way to the theater, the snow storm that they had been calling for all day had begun. She prayed that Tony would be ok, and that hopefully he was safely sitting at his desk at the Navy yard and not out on the roads.

There were already a ton of cars in the parking lot, which meant there would be twice as many people waiting in the lobby, so she decided to sneak in through the back door. A gush of wind blew past as she opened the door and she pulled her collar up to cover her cold neck.

"Ziva! Ziva, oh thank God you're here!" Charlie was like a jumping bean, his body shaking with nervousness, and his left eye twitching with excitement. He was always like this on opening nights. He pulled her into her dressing room and handed her a short, crisp white sequenced tutu, and a beaded leotard of the same color. "You must change quickly, my dear. Only ten minutes till show time." He slammed the door on his way out, but she could still hear his big mouth. "Girls! Girls, only ten minutes! Ten minutes till show time!"

After dressing and fixing her hair at lightning speed she began feeling nauseous. She knew it was nerves; she just didn't want to admit it to herself. _Maybe some stretching might calm me down._ Ziva reached down and touched her toes and then stood and pulled her right leg behind her, her foot touching her shoulder blade. She almost lost her balance at the sound of someone tapping on the door. "Come in," she said.

"Ziva, dear. You look beautiful."

Ziva looked up and saw Anna standing in front of her, more dressed up than she had ever seen her. She wasn't even this dressed up for her own anniversary. She wore a long emerald green skirt with a matching green suit jacket that had a little fur around the collar. It looked like an outfit that could have been worn by a movie star in the 40's. Ziva wondered if it had once belonged to Anna's mother. Anna often talked about how her mother used to be a Broadway actress at one time, and how she still owned some of her mother's old costumes. "You look beautiful too, Anna."

The older woman blushed, her cheeks puffing out as she tried to keep a massive smile from breaking out. "Well, it's a special night, and…" she leaned in "it's been years since Cal's taken me to the theater, hell I can barely get him out of the apartment." Ziva smiled but Anna could see that something wasn't right. "What's wrong, sweetie? Here sit down." She pulled up a chair for Ziva to sit in and she took a spot in another.

Ziva shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I'm fine, really." She knew she probably looked pale. _Why does this dressing room always get so hot?_

Anna looked at her with concerned eyes, and placed a hand to Ziva's forehead, then leant back in her seat. "Ah. I think I know what this is about. I know you're nervous, dear, but I have no doubt that you're gonna do great out there."

Ziva tried to keep her breathing steady. "You think?"

"Of course. When am I ever wrong, hmm?" She nudged Ziva with her elbow encouragingly, causing a smile to flicker on the nervous young woman's face. "Besides all your friends are here to support you. Me and Cal. Abby and uh, Timothy I believe he said his name was. That nice man with the accent who, by the way, seems to enjoy talking a lot." Ziva had to laugh at the way she explained Ducky. "And that young man with the glasses, and oh…where's Tony? I didn't see him out there."

Ziva sighed. "He was called in to work earlier. Actually I'm surprised that everyone's here. Gibbs must have let everyone leave, but, then why isn't Tony here?" She began mumbling to herself.

"Well, I don't know. I'm sure he's just fine though. In fact he could be on his way right now," Anna said, trying to calm Ziva down.

"Yes, maybe you're right."

Just then she heard Charlie yell from outside the room. "Show time, people! Everybody ready?! It's show time!"

"Sounds like that man means business." Anna said getting up from her chair, wincing at the sound of her bones cracking.

Ziva got up as well and put on her white headpiece that was shaped like a giant crown and had little snowflakes on it. She stood in the mirror and looked at herself.

Anna stood behind her. "You're gonna do wonderfully. I just know it." She had so much confidence in her voice. While Anna was wonderful, Ziva couldn't help but wish that it was Tony cheering her on.

Tony looked up at the clock on his computer screen. _7:57. That means Ziva starts dancing in three minutes. I'm never gonna make it._

"Not when you're here sitting on your ass."

Tony looked up from the screen startled. "Boss." The man's just getting sneakier with age.

"What the hell are you still doing here, DiNozzo?"

"Well, I, I was just finishing up this case report...Boss."

Gibbs nodded. "Shouldn't you be doing something else?"

_I should be doing something else. I should be watching my girlfriend dance. Why am I not there now? Everyone else has already left. I should be there. _Tony thought to himself, and by the smirk on Gibbs face he wondered if Gibbs had somehow heard that. The man knows everything.

"Grab your stuff. Come on, we're gonna be late. I'll drive." Gibbs started heading for the elevator.

Tony sat stunned, not moving in his seat. "Boss…"

Gibbs stood in front of the elevator waiting for it to open. "DiNozzo!"

Tony hopped up. "Coming Boss." He grabbed his stuff and followed his boss into the elevator. "We're never gonna make it in time." He looked at his watch.

Gibbs turned to him and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Tony rubbed at the sore spot.

"I said, I'm driving DiNozzo. You do remember how fast I can drive, don't yuh?"

Tony's eyed widened with fear and he swallowed_**.**_ _He's even worse than Ziva at times. Maybe we will get there on time after all… _

**To be continued…**

**P.S. – Thanks so much **_NCISNumber1Fan_ **for your wonderful gift suggestions. They were all so adorable! The next chapter will feature the gift giving, and one of your ideas inspired something. So, for that I thank you =D**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: It's sad ,but true…I do not own.**

Chapter 21 – Merry Christmas!

The stage curtain lifted and there was a loud applause as Ziva slowly made her way to the center of the stage. It had now come time for her big solo. She took a deep breath (which was hard to do since it felt like her costume had been fitted for a twelve year old, rather than her curvy self) and tried to imagine that she was by herself, and not standing alone on a brightly lit stage in front of hundreds of people. She wished Tony was here to see her. He wanted to be here so badly.

The stage had been set up to look like a forest. Trees were painted white and brushed with fake snow, and a machine dispensed more fake snow from the ceiling. Ziva opened her eyes when the soft sound of violins started playing, and she lifted her right leg, spreading it out, then in and stood on her tip toes. She surrendered her body to the music and the feel of the falling snow, and began dancing gracefully all around the stage. When the music would speed up so would she, and her movements would become more dramatic and pronounce. She'd kick her legs out and fling her arms around. When the music would soften, her movements became looser, like air, like she was caught in the wind and she let it drag her across the stage.

After what felt like an hour, the music finally softened until it was only a faint whisper, which meant it was coming to a close. She did her final twirl, then gently laid down in the snow and curled up as though she had fallen asleep.

Seconds later, the crowd, that she had completely forgotten was even there, began cheering loudly; their clapping seemed to vibrate, making it even louder. Ziva opened her eyes and stood up, bowing at the audience who began throwing flowers on stage. Red roses were everywhere. Their beautiful petals contrasted so nicely with the white snow. She picked one up, smelling it; the fresh smell brought an even brighter smile to her face.

Suddenly, something black was being throw at her. She reached out and caught it. Looking down at it, she realized it was a hat, and gasped at the letters written in white. _NCIS. Tony. Tony's here?_ She quickly took off her annoying head piece that made it feel like there was a giant knot on the back of her head, and she put on the hat. She tried looking out into the audience to try and find him, but it was too dark for her to see anything.

The curtain closed and she dashed backstage. She needed to find him. Ziva was in such a rush that she didn't see the man beside her, and she bumped into him. "Oh, I'm sorry I…" She looked up and was met with the brightest smile she had ever seen, and wouldn't ever forget. "Tony," she breathed out. How is it that he could take her breath away faster than dancing on that hot stage could? She threw her arms around him and he held her tight.

"That was beautiful…you're beautiful," he whispered into her neck.

She pulled back slightly to look at him. "I cannot believe you're here. How did you even make it in time?"

He rubbed at the back of his head, almost nervously. "Yeah, about that. Turns out Gibbs is even better at getting out of a ticket than I am. You should have seen him Ziva, he was amazing. The first time…"

"First time? You mean you got pulled over more than once?" She raised her eyebrows.

He cleared his throat. "Well, technically the Bossman did, cause he was the one driving. Anyway, you should have seen… the second guy, well, he was like a probie, but the cop that pulled us over the first time, that guy looked like the Incredible Hulk; but he was still no match for the Leroy Jethro Gibbs stare. He…Ow!" Tony yelped at the feel of something colliding with his head, and turned around to see his boss standing there with a program folded and gripped tightly in his hand.

"Knock it off,DiNozzo."

"Got it, Boss."

Gibbs turned to Ziva and gave her a nod, which she returned. "You did good out there. I'm proud of you, Ziver."_ Ziver, _it was what he started calling her a few weeks ago. It didn't take her long to become found of the nickname.

"Thank you, Gibbs," she replied sincerely.

The rest of the night was a blur of jumbled chaos. People were coming up to her nonstop, giving her praises and boasting about how she was going to be the 'big star' of the theater. Ziva enjoyed the admiration she got from complete strangers after her performance, but it was Abby's hugs, Anna's outrageous picture snapping, and the kind and comforting words from the rest of her friends that had come to support her, that she treasured most of all.

The next morning Ziva awoke to a feeling of emptiness. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but for some reason it just felt like something was missing. She reached over to Tony's side of the bed. At first her hand hit the cold bed sheets, then it landed on something soft and…hairy? _He's a hairy man, but I do not remember him being quite this hairy. _She cracked one eye open and noticed that Tony was in fact nowhere in sight, and Marni had made himself at home in the other man's spot. Ziva stroked the back of the sleeping cat's neck. "Merry Christmas, Marni," she whispered, and then hopped out of bed, slipped on her silk robe, and then moved quietly into the living room.

Tony was crouched in front of the Christmas tree; it looked like he was putting some last minute gifts under it. He saw her silhouette out of the corner of his eye and jumped back away from the beautifully lit tree. "Jesus, Ziva. Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something? And on Christmas of all days." He overdramatically clutched at his chest before standing up and giving her a kiss. "Merry Christmas, Zee-vaah," he whispered against her lips.

"Merry Christmas, Tony."

He grabbed her hand and they plopped down on the floor in front of the tree. It was easy to tell which presents she had wrapped and which ones he had. Tony wasn't exactly known for his good gift wrapping skills. _At least he tried_, Ziva thought to herself.

Tony grabbed a small gift bag that was on top of the pile of wrapped boxes, and went to reach down inside of it to reveal its contents, but he paused first. "We have to open this one first. Now, I know that married couples usually buy these things, but I just thought…" He reached in and took out a shiny red bulb ornament for the tree. There was writing on the front in big white letters.

Ziva's eyebrows squished together in confusion when she read what was engraved on it. "Tiva's 1st Christmas."

"What?!" Tony turned it around and held it up in the light. "Damn it! They messed up the name, it was supposed to say 'Tony and Ziva's 1st Christmas."

Ziva frowned slightly, staring at the little ornament. "Well, if you combine both our names that could make Tiva." She shrugged, and then a minute later she snapped her fingers, causing Tony to nearly drop the bulb in his hand. "Ooh, like uh, one of those weird couple nicknames. Like…uh..Bran.."

"Brangelina," Tony answered, not taking his eyes off of the ornament he was fiddling with in his hands.

"Brangelina, that's it."

Tony broke off his staring contest with the shiny red object and turned to her. "So…we're Tiva." He pointed to the name written in white.

She nodded. "Exactly."

He was silent for a few moments and he looked at her, his lips appeared almost pouty. "Why can't we be Zony?"

Ziva just rolled her eyes and shook her head, then snatched the ornament out of his open hand, and hung it on one of the tree branches, right next to a 007 ornament.

They took turns opening gifts. Ziva had gotten Tony two pairs of ties that he had been hinting around about wanting for the last month. He had recently started complaining about his back hurting him all the time, (that damn massage chair was supposed to take out the knots not put them in), so she found a heated pillow that he could use that would help soothe the pain. Of course it wouldn't be Christmas for Tony without getting a few movies so she got him 'The Pink Panther' box set collection. Out of all of his gifts, the last one put the biggest smile on his face.

"Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits," he read the title on the CD and she could almost see him flashing back to the day when he showed up at her door and sang to her. He had so much hope in his heart that day. Hope that someday she might possibly share the same affection he so undeniably had for her.

She looked directly into his eyes and smiled at him. "I could not resist."

He wasn't sure if she was referring to the gift or referring to him. He had a feeling she meant both though.

She was delightfully surprised to see that he had gotten her a music box, but what was more surprising was that it was 'The Sound of Music' music box. He had come home from work early one day to the sound of someone singing. He followed the voice to the bedroom and found her curled up under the covers watching the movie, and apparently singing along. He complimented her on her voice, and she had bent her head down shyly, trying unsuccessfully to hide a blush.

Tony had also gotten Ziva a couple books that she had been asking for. She jokingly thanked him saying she knew how hard it must have been on him just to even set foot in a book store, when actually she knew that he had just started reading a new novel a few days ago.

Ziva could tell by the pink bag that the last gift was lingerie. She looked at the bag hesitantly, and he looked her up and down teasingly. "Why do I get the feeling that this is more a gift for you, than it is for me?" she asked and he just smirked at her in return. Her hand seemed to be more interested in what was in the bag than she was, and it reached in and pulled out a very soft piece of material. To her surprise it wasn't really lingerie at all. It was a beautiful and delicate looking cream colored nightgown. It wasn't too short, probably went down to about the knees, and had a opened collar with strings that you could pull that would come together and cover up the otherwise open chest area. "Tony, this is gorgeous. "She felt kind of bad for feeling so surprised that he would not get something more flashy and revealing, and more… well, of Tony's typical liking. _But he's changed, Ziva. He's not the same man he was before he met you. He's not in to the same things he used to be, _a voice in her head told her, and for some reason it sounded like Tony's.

"I hoped you would like it. I saw it and, it was just so different, so beautiful from everything else in the store. It was just so…you." He smiled, and she kissed him lovingly on the cheek.

It seemed that everybody was busy doing something that night. McGee was visiting his sister, Abby was having her Christmas dinner with her buddies down at the soup kitchen, Ducky was making dinner for his mother and Jimmy had been invited to mainly keep Mrs. Mallard company (she had taken a certain 'interest' in him recently), and Anna and Cal had driven up to Maryland to spend Christmas with their daughter and son in-law.

Ziva decided to just make soup for her and Tony. It was easy and nothing spectacular like a roast or a turkey with all the fixings, but it would be a warm and cozy way to end the day. As she stirred the pot she got to thinking about Gibbs. As far as she knew he had no plans tonight. Perhaps he would like to come join them. "Tony, do you think I should ask Gibbs over?" He was sitting in the living room so she had to holler.

He got up from his chair and walked over to where she stood at the stove. "Uh, Ziva. I don't know, Gibbs isn't really big on Christmas, or any holiday for that matter. It's kind of hard for him."

He seemed hesitant to tell her more, but she still asked, "Why is that? What happened?"

Gibbs ears perked up at the sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked up from the boat that he had been in the middle of sanding to see the figure walk down the steps.

"You are aware that there is no lock on your door?"

"Yep," he replied.

Ziva nodded, taking in the feel of the basement. She had been to Gibbs house once before, but had never been down here.

"What are you doing here, Ziva?"

"I could ask you the same question. Shouldn't you be celebrating?"

He looked around for his glass of bourbon and when he found it he held it up. "This is how I celebrate." He put it to his lips and took a long sip of it.

She watched as he swallowed the strong liquor. "I know that the holidays can be hard, especially when the people we love the most are no longer here to spend them with us."

Gibbs eyes glazed over and it looked like he just bit into a sour grape. "You know about what happened to…to...", he stammered and gritted his teeth, frustrated at himself that he couldn't even say their names without becoming emotional.

Ziva watched him intently. "Your wife and daughter. Yes, I know." She reached out and put her hand on his, and it almost looked like he may have flinched at the contact. "I'm sorry, Gibbs."

"Never apologize," he muttered his voice sounding hoarse all of a sudden.

She sighed. "You know, it is not a sign of weakness to grieve."

He pulled his hand quickly out from under hers and stood up straighter. "Why are you here, Ziva?"

She stood just as straight as he was. "Tony and I wanted to invite you over for dinner. It is your choice whether you wish to come or not; I am not going to force you." She walked over to the stairs and stopped, looking at him over her shoulder. "No one should be alone on Christmas. You do not have to be, Gibbs. I just wanted you to know that."

They were just about to sit down at the dinner table when there was a knock on the door. Tony was about to get up and see who it was, but Ziva put a hand up to stop him. "I'll get it."

Tony smiled when he heard her greet the man at the door.

"Nice of you to join us," she said.

"Merry Christmas, Ziver".

"Merry Christmas, Gibbs."

**Merry Christmas in October! I hope you all enjoyed that :)**

**Once again I would like to thank **_NCISNumber1Fan _**for your idea of the Christmas tree ornament; I just decided to put a little spin on it. **

**Please everyone let me know what you think. I would love to know your thoughts on this chapter…or your thoughts on anything for that matter, that's ok too. **


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I have been terribly busy lately, not to mention suffering from writers block, again. Finally, my muse came back and I was able to write this chapter. I had to rewrite it about three times so hopefully everything makes sense and it fits alright with the story.**

**Thank you to those of you who are still reading and following this story, your support is greatly appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. **

Chapter 22 – Scars Part 1

It was hard to take the Christmas tree down…well, it was really rather easy to take down, it was just difficult to see all of the ornaments being taken off, and then to see it be pulled apart and stuffed back into the box, not to be reopened until next Christmas. Ziva understood now why Tony wanted to buy a fake tree instead of a real one – it's been a little over a month since Christmas and it was only yesterday that all evidence of it disappeared from their apartment.

There was still snow on the ground, though it looked more like powdered sugar sprinkling the roads. The air had gotten colder, but dryer. For the past few weeks, their bodies have become almost attached because of it. At night, Ziva cranks up the heating blanket and scoots in bed next to her warm lover who automatically curves his arms around her shivering body. She hates that since it's gotten colder Tony can no longer go shirtless to bed (except for during sex of course) and now has to wear a long sleeved shirt to bed.

If you haven't guessed, the heater in the apartment was still being a bitch, refusing to work. Ziva would kick it sometimes hoping it would start, but it never did. The heater would only start for Tony. He explained to her that "_Abusing it will do nothing but damage it even more."_ So every time the heater stopped working, Tony would slowly approach it, put his hand on the lever (sometimes he would even whisper to it), and pull. Then, suddenly, the heater would purr to life and start pumping out heat. Tony would give Ziva his smug little grin; the one that made her 40% furious and 60% aroused. She refused to admit that she was jealous of a heater (an old busted up one at that). It was positively ridiculous, but she still found herself glaring at it every time she walked by it.

"Will you quit glaring at that thing?"

Ziva looked up from her bowl of cereal to the closed bathroom door. She jumped down from her perch on the kitchen counter to stand in front of the bathroom door. "How do you know what I'm doing if you cannot see me?"

"Well, I don't. I just know you," was the muffled answer from inside the bathroom.

"Huh." She folded her arms and let her curiosity be known. "What exactly are you doing in there, Tony?" She heard the knob turn and watched as the door opened just a sliver. She opened it the rest of the way.

Tony stood at the sink leaning close to the mirror, a towel wrapped around his waist. She could still see some water droplets in his chest hairs leftover from his shower and, yes, her gaze did automatically go there. He smiled wildly at her though there was an emotion she couldn't identify in his eyes, which concerns her, and she thinks for the first time how that's rarely ever happened before. She's almost always been able to tell what he's thinking.

That's why it makes her wince when she asks, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I need to shave." He rubs at the relatively thick stubble on his jaw.

"I'm thinking you need to shave too. But that's not really what you're thinking."

"So, are you saying you don't like my stubble, because you didn't seem to mind it the other night you…"

"Tony!" Ziva uncrossed her arms and threw them up in the air. "I don't care about the fur on your face…alright."

He raised his eyebrows at her tone but nodded, "Alright."

"Good." She pushed herself off the doorframe and folded her arms, then walked slowly towards him. "Now, what is wrong? I know something is the matter, because you have been in here for a very long time, and I know you like long showers, but it's been almost an hour and a half. I was beginning to think you escaped out the window."

Tony smiled at her joke. "Nah, you'd kill me if I ever did that, sweetheart."

"You're right. I probably would." She was glaring though he could see the smile that fought to be exposed.

He looked in the mirror again and glanced down at his stomach, and then turned sideways still looking at his reflection. "Do you think I've gained weight?"

"Tony!"

"What?"

Ziva groaned, "Is that really what you're worried about? Be serious."

"I am being serious. I think all this holiday food has made me gain a few pounds. "He flexed his abdomen muscles. Sucking it in, pushing it out. His stomach contracted and then expanded. "Look Ziva I have a muffin top."

"Oh Tony stop it. I have no idea what muffins have to do with this, but I can assure you, you do not have any…muffin top, whatever that may be. Now sit down." She grabbed both his hands and guided him over to sit on the lid of the toilet seat, as she crouched on the floor in front of him. Their hands were still entwined and Tony noticed that her thumbs were even rubbing back and forth soothingly over his palms, though he wondered if she knew that she was doing it. "Tony…please let me in," she pleaded.

He bit his lip for a moment then stood and turned his back to her.

It pained her to watch him turn his back; to refuse to open up to her, after already having shared so much of himself with her. She was about to say something, but then he raised his hand and pointed to his lower back. Her eyes followed his finger to a rather small and faded blob shaped scar on the lower left side of his back. "It is a scar." Her fingers itched to touch it, but at the moment they just hovered over it.

"Yeah."

"What about it?"

He looked at her over his shoulder. "How come you haven't said anything about it?"

"Well, I guess, I never really noticed it much before." Truthfully, she had noticed it, but things like scars were just natural to her. She too had scars.

"I noticed you looking at it the other day," he replied, and she lowered her hands to her lap and looked away guilty. He looked past his tired face in the mirror and slid his gaze to the candle that sat on the window ledge behind him. The flame shimmed around, doing its little dance while he watched with great concentration.

Ziva lifted her head at his silence. She noticed how his gaze had drifted and turned around to look at the flickering candle.

"Some nights…I wake up and can still smell the smoke…my lungs start burning like hell and I can't breathe. I thank God every day that that scar is on my back so I don't have to look at it, but still, I still have the memory of that night…"

"Tony…"

"It happened when I was in college. I went for a walk one night, and out of nowhere I saw these giant flames, it looked like the sky was on fire. I don't know why, but something made me run into that building. I didn't think anybody was home at first, but then I went upstairs…I managed to save a boy, but I couldn't save his little sister." He was having trouble breathing and his shoulders shook as he gripped the sides of the sink harder. "It's not fair, it's not fair that she died. She didn't deserve to die. She was so young, so young," he whispered brokenly.

Ziva squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a second before standing. "Tony, why must you put yourself through so much pain?" she whispered under her breath. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she successfully captured his attention away from the candle. "Tony…you saved a life."

"Yeah, and I took a life too," he gritted his teeth.

She felt the urge to slap him and her clenched fist jerked slightly at her side before she was able to calm herself. "No. You _did not_ take a life. You killed no one; her death was _not_ your fault. I wish you would not blame yourself for everything, Tony."

"You wouldn't understand." The anger in his eyes startled her and she took a step back. "Just leave me alone for a while, okay?!"

Ziva stood her ground for a few moments. Her glare seemed to have no effect on him, so she finally gave up and walked stiffly to the door, slamming it on her way out.

Her usual nighttime snack – a bowl of '_Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch_' sat soggy and all alone on the kitchen table. After leaving Tony in the bathroom to sulk in his guilt and shame, Ziva had relocated to living room floor. She laid flat on her back and took several deep breathes. Her body was wound tightly and she was left feeling very confused, and it was painful to say the least. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why did he have to be hurting all the time? She knew he had a lot of wounds, a lot of pain in his past, but why did this man have to suffer so much, and sometimes at his own hands?

By the time the knob on the bathroom door finally turned she was almost asleep on the floor. Her eyes snapped open when she heard the squeak of the door and she quickly curled her body and shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep when he walked past her and into the bedroom. A few seconds later he re-entered the living room and stood over her. Ziva kept still when she felt him drape a blanket over her shivering body. It was quiet and she wondered if he was going to wake her up and tell her to go into the bedroom and get some sleep, but after a few seconds of just standing and watching her, he crutched down and kissed her cold cheek softly. "I'm sorry," he murmured and then went back into the bedroom.

Ziva opened her eyes and let out the breath she was holding. She got up off the floor and hesitantly opened the bedroom door. She paused in the entry way and her heart warmed at the sight before her. Tony was lying in bed reading one of her many books she kept laying around the apartment. There was something so comfortable, so intimate about that, and _'Since when does he wear glasses?' _she wondered. He didn't seem to notice her presence. She walked over to the dresser and grabbed her nightgown, the one Tony had given her for Christmas.

After getting changed in the bathroom, she took a seat at the foot of the bed.

Tony's reading glasses slipped further down his nose and his eyes scanned the page he was on, 'scan' being the appropriate word. He noticed her lips twitch from the corner of his eye, and he knew she was aware of the fact that she had stolen his attention.

She began untying the strings that held the top of the nightgown together. Tony pushed his glasses up and finally looked up from the paperback to watch her thin fingers pull the top of the nightgown open, exposing the creamy skin of her collarbone and shoulders. He heard her take a deep breath and the nightgown slipped further down her frame. She appeared to be shaking slightly. The room was pretty cold, but no, it wasn't just that, her eyes said so.

"You think that I don't understand, Tony, but I do. I know you've seen the scars on my body."

He nodded his head a little, and tried to keep from gazing down at her thighs where he knew some of them were.

"There are some things I have yet to tell you, until now," she whispered and let the nightgown drop to the floor.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and your wonderful patience!**

Chapter 23 – Scars Part 2

"_There are some things I have yet to tell you until now."_

The words punctured a hole through the dead silence of the room. There she stood in front of him, naked and shivering, yet strong. Her skin was goose-pimply from the cold. Lit by a dim bedside lamp, the color of her skin resembled a coffee with extra cream. He licked his lips at the description. His gaze flicked north, south, east and west in a matter of seconds and, yes, he had seen her like this many times before, but each time he came to the same conclusion – Ziva David was a goddess.

Tony was taken out of his thoughts by the sound of a throat being cleared. His eyes snapped up from their rooted position on her toned stomach and she met him with a raised eyebrow. For a minute she thought she may have to repeat what she'd just said, but then it was obvious that his mind was coming back to him.

"What is it, Ziva?" For a split second she looked like a caged animal. She began nibbling on her lower lip, and her face turned pale. Tony pulled down the covers on the other side of the bed and propped up her pillow for her. "C'mere," he patted the sheets. Ziva slipped in the bed foot first before pulling the covers up to her chest. There was a considerable amount of room between them, but it was obvious that she wanted some space right now. Tony placed his book on the bedside table, along with his glasses, and made himself comfortable in bed turning on his side to face her. "It's going to be okay, Ziva. You know you can tell me anything. I'm always here for you."

"_It's _going_ to be okay." Meaning, not everything is okay yet, but eventually it will be. Perhaps he understands more than I thought,_ she decided.

"I know," she replied, and a sad smile appeared on her lips before quickly fading. Her hand reached up and disappeared through her thick brown curls. She closed her eyes and didn't say anything for a while, just layed very still and ran her fingers through her hair.

He watched her silently. Though she may be his goddess, and his ninja, he knew she tired easily. An outsider would barely be able to notice; she hid it so well, but her eyes sometimes grew wary and, for such a young woman, the pain and guilt he would occasionally catch in those dark eyes was that of a tortured soul.

Her eyelids fluttered open and he was once again taken aback by her beauty, as well as her look of sorrow.

"I understand your feelings of guilt; what it is like to blame yourself for…things, things that were out of your control." She sighed deeply, and took his hand that was under the covers and glided it across her arm. He could feel the faint traces of bumpy formations that he knew were scars. _Her scars._ "You probably wonder where most of these came from."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She flinched when the tips of his cold fingers made contact with her hip. She, however, didn't shy away from his touch. "No, you should know." _He deserves to know. After all, he has shared his – now it is time to share your story, Ziva. _Ziva gripped Tony's other hand and fixed him with a stare that said, '_Promise me you will not judge me.'_ He bowed his head in a silent promise to her. Judging from her own slight nod, she seemed to except it. "Most of them are from my training."

Tony squinted his eyes in thought. "Your training…you mean for dancing?"

It looked like her cage had been rattled.

"No, I mean Mossad. My father is the director."

Tony's eyes widened and the hand that rested on her hip twitched, however, the one that held hers only tightened. "Mossad, as in…Mossad?"

She felt the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes."

"Guess that explains your outstanding abilities at firing a weapon." She glared at him, and he cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry. Go on." She opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke again. "Wait a minute, you're Mossad?!"

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"Tony, if you let me finish, I will explain." His finger tapped her side, signaling that she could continue. "I was supposed to be Mossad. I was supposed to grow up and become what my father wanted me to be. He wanted so much for me; so much was expected of me, and my sister and brother."

"That must have been overwhelming."

"It was, at times. He wanted us to grow up, and fight, and be strong and fearless…and some days I wanted that too. Sometimes I wanted to be just like my father…and my sister, Tali, wanted to be just like me."

For a second, he could have sworn someone opened a window; a harsh chill ran across his body. Ziva's body shook, causing the sheets to vibrate, and it appeared that she had felt it too.

"_That's a good picture." He pointed behind him._

"_Yes, that was my sister and I."_

"_See, I'm learning new things about you already. You have a sister."_

"_Had", she said, not meeting his eyes. "She died three years ago."_

"_I'm sorry."_

_Ziva chuckled sadly. "What have you got to be sorry for?" Then she whispered under her breath," You are not the one who killed her."_

The picture still hung on the wall. He could tell that she was trying desperately hard not to look at it.

"It will be four years in April. Since she…she was…", she sighed shaking her head, as if she still couldn't believe it. Her shiny brown eyes were staring into his. It was almost like she was asking his permission to continue, or maybe she was afraid to continue; afraid to reopen old, faded, but still lingering scars.

"Ziva," he whispered.

"I was with her when it happened."

He wasn't expecting that. He drew in a deep breath and it sounded like she was choking on hers. Her voice was steady out of effort, but ever so soft when she spoke again. "She did not like to think about death, even though we were surrounded by it." She paused and collected her thoughts. "She begged me to take her into town that night." She smiled briefly. "I was surprised, because it was usually me who liked to do most of my sightseeing at night. She was always such a day person; hated the dark. I, however, could not say no to her, so I agreed. We had spent most of the night shopping…she was so full of life that night, she even wanted to go dancing." Her hand suddenly shot up from under the sheets and covered her mouth before the inevitable sob broke through. "While we were walking home, I spotted a car driving slowly behind us and then, suddenly, it…burst into flames. She was standing too close, I tried…I tried to save her." He pulled her into his arms as she began to cry. His hands rubbed circles up and down her back and he whispered sweet reassuring words in her ear that eventually calmed her. "I saw it coming and I could have stopped it. If only, I realized it sooner."

"Ziva, that wasn't your fault," he spoke softly.

She placed a hand on his cheek. "And that little girl's death was not yours either."

He placed his hand over hers on his cheek as he drew her closer to him. He kissed her temple, letting her know that he understood, and it was that admission that seemed to comfort her most.

"After what had happened to Tali, I had to rethink some things. I wanted to get away from Mossad, away from my father. I was so angry over her death. I wanted to get revenge, but I just couldn't stop thinking that she wouldn't have wanted violence. She would not have wanted me to die, even if I wanted to. I just didn't care what happened anymore. Then, not long after, my brother Ari was killed, and I finally decided that I had to leave. My father was not happy about that, as you can imagine. When I told him, there was so much shame in his eyes. The disappointment, the rage, I could not stand it. That was when I made the choice to come here. It is safer this way."

Tony was not sure what to say at this point. He was still trying to process all of the information she had shared with him. It was all so hard to imagine, he didn't want to think about it. "Is he looking for you?" he asked.

She shook her head and rubbed at the corner of her eye. "No, I do not believe so. He does not care anymore. The first year I came here, I know he was looking for me, but after a while, I know he stopped. Perhaps leaving me alone is his way of apologizing finally; to make up for his sins."

He wondered, _just how many sins did her father have to make up for?_ _And just how many of them involved her? _Judging from what she's shared about him, he figured the number wasn't small. It made anger boil in his chest when he thought of anyone causing her pain, but to think that it was her own father, that was even worse. He hated the man already and he'd never even met the guy. He did, however, have to give him one thing – his daughter is the most amazing woman Tony has ever met.

They simply laid there in the dark for a while. The night's events had worn them out, and it felt like they hadn't slept for days, but neither of them expected to fall asleep. The sheets were huddled around them like a tent, protecting them from the cold, as well as the outside world. He imagined it had to be close to one in the morning. He thought he better check the clock on the nightstand, but was too comfortable to move. He looked down at Ziva who was distracting herself by playing with his fingers. Her eyes curiously followed the lines of his palm. She had decided against putting her nightgown back on, and an hour ago, she had even managed to get him out of his own pajamas. Not that he protested. They had no intentions of making love however, oh no, this wasn't about that. There was just something about lying next to one another like this that made everything else around them seem so far away.

"Tony."

"Yeah Ziva?"

He felt her hot breath on the inside of his palm as she kissed it. "Thank you for keeping me safe…and for still loving me, even after everything in the past.

He was at a loss for words. _She _was thanking _him?_ If anything he thought _he _should be thanking_ her. _

"Ziva," he was about to reach out for her when he felt her hand on his cheeks.

She leaned in and kissed him softly. "I have never shared that part of my life with anyone before Tony, but you, I feel safe with you.

His insides swelled with pride at her words, and he wondered what he did to deserve her. "Ziva, nothing will make me ever stop loving you. Nothing. And I will always protect you."

She sniffled and smiled at him before giving him a serious look. "Promise me, that you will stop blaming yourself for things that are not your fault."

He nodded, and placed his hand over his heart. "I promise."

She placed her hand over her heart as well. "And I shall do the same."

It was a promise, a pledge, _a vow, _and they both knew that it was only the first of many to come in their evolving relationship.

**Reviews are always welcome. I love them! **

**Ok, so who cried during 'Shabbat Shalom' and 'Shiva'? (…Proudly raises hand…)**


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